


Value

by Akamba



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blackmail, Blood, Flashbacks, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, M/M, Major Character Injury, Nightmares, Non-Explicit Sex, On the Run, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rescue Missions, Scars, Suicide, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 15:19:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 127,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7897732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akamba/pseuds/Akamba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somebody wants to take Asami’s position in the underworld but this doesn’t concerns the crime lord, it is just another small yakuza that wants to play adult games, but when things start to get dangerous Asami finds that everything is much bigger than he expects.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Warnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!! 
> 
> I have been floating as a reader in this fandom for a while and this idea got stuck in my head, so I decided to make it happen.
> 
> This is my first story ever so it might not be real good, please bear with me.
> 
> I don’t know how many chapters this is going to have but be sure it will have a proper ending.
> 
> Also English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, so if you find one feel free to tell me so I can correct it and improve my English, I would appreciate that greatly.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are really welcome!!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 1. WARNINGS**

He began to wake as the sunlight entered the room through the window, sleepy eyes blinked slowly to consciousness to be greeted by the sight of the sleeping man next to him. Still early and no photo shoots scheduled for the day, the young blond decided to cuddle a little longer with his favorite crime lord before breakfast. Despite still being tired of the past night activities Akihito stayed awake, taking this time to have a close look to his partner’s sleeping face and enjoy his warmth, today was going to be a very normal day: breakfast, some legal business for Asami in the morning, some illegal ones at night, and a stake out for Akihito.

 

A couple of hours later, Asami woke to an empty bed but also to a delicious smell coming from the kitchen, a traditional Japanese breakfast was waiting for him next to blond hair and blue eyes.

 

“Good morning, kitten.”

 

“Good morning, bastard”

 

The normal word exchange in the mornings, the normal company, the normal routine, just the beginning of a new very normal and ordinary day.

 

***

 

Asami arrived at his office in Sion and went through every document Kirishima left in his desk, he followed the schedule his secretary gave him and attended a number of reunions with business partners, everything was going as planned until late in the afternoon Kirishima entered his office with a frown followed closely by Suoh.

 

“What is it Kirishima?”

 

“Asami-sama, another one was just found in the lobby”

 

Suoh handed him a piece of paper, a custom paper sheet with big red letters occupying its surface.

 

“Who found it?”

 

“One of the guards, it was in the floor just passing the entrance, we have gone through the surveillance recording, it was left by a man dress in black with a baseball cap, I’m sorry Sir but his face is not visible.”

 

“There were no guards outside?” Asami looked at Suoh raising his eyebrow, his men were disciplined and well trained, it was a rarity they have left their positions.

 

“Yes, two at that entrance, Asami-sama. They report a commotion nearby, a couple of reporters trying to get in, they were forced to intervene leaving their positions for a couple of minutes, my guess is that it was a distraction.”

 

Asami left the paper in his desk and reached his pocket for a cigarette.

 

“Indeed it was, are the “reporters” in custody?”

 

“I´m afraid they are not, Asami-sama. They vanished from the scene but we have their faces.”

 

“Find them.”

 

Papers like this have been arriving for a couple of months now, always left by a different person in different places, sometimes at Sion, others in the limo, even in his clubs, and every time they had no leads to who was responsible for, just small thugs. The first ones were simple messages, “ _watch out”, “we are watching you”,_ but then they started to become more aggressive, “ _you will fall”, “leave or we will get you”, “Asami Ryuichi is a dead man”, “your head will be ours”, “the day is coming”._

Asami left his Dunhill in the ashtray and headed to the door of his office, Kirishima and Suoh followed him, they knew his boss didn’t think of these threats as something serious and neither do them, everything pointed to be an attention cry form some small emerging yakuza groups, just some babies wanting to play grown up, after all, no one was stupid enough to try to do something against Asami Ryuichi.

 

The trio left Sion in the limo, heading to Asami´s next appointment in his schedule leaving the piece of paper still in his desk, with big red letters claiming to be read: “ _Time’s up”._

***

 

Akihito was sticking to his morning bow of having a lazy day in the penthouse, the last couple of days had been exhausting, dealing with Mitarai at the newspaper, being forced to work with stubborn and spoiled models for fashion photo shoots, going to stake outs that turned to be fake, just an enormous work overload and coming home to a number of sexy rounds with Asami wasn’t helping his tired body. He had another stake out late at night and wanted to be at his best, the job was dangerous, a dirty politician connected to human traffic and prostitution also known for his “cleaning jobs” disappearing everyone who dared to point a finger at him, along with every single proof of his illegal activities.

 

Late in the afternoon Akihito was ready to leave the penthouse with his camera bag hanging from his shoulder, fully rested and with plenty of time to arrive at the old building and prepare himself to catch his target in his viewfinder.

 

The streets of Tokyo were busy with the usual traffic of the city; he drove his Vespa through the cars and into alleys to get in time to his destination. An old abandoned factory building nearby Tokyo Bay was the scenery of the future deal of the politician and hopefully the last one also. Akihito arrived a couple of hours before midnight, he parked his bike in an alley and walked to the factory, his target wasn´t supposed to be there until past 11:00pm so he had plenty of time to set in the place he had already planned to wait for him. When he spotted the broken window in the second floor in the back of the building he ran and kicking the wall to gain height he jumped and reached the window with his hands, after he passed the rest of his body through the window and landed safely in the inside the young photographer headed to the center of the building where in the first floor some old machines used to be, now that place was nothing but a huge empty room with just a few containers in its sides. On the second floor that space was hollow, giving a nice complete view of the floor below, Akihito crouched behind the remains of what seemed to be and old wooden table, hidden perfectly in the shadows but having a perfect angle to see anyone who entered the room below, he prepared his camera, checked his battery and waited.

 

***

 

Kirishima and Suoh were checking the last details for tonight’s deal, a midnight weapons smuggling in the middle of Shinjuku with the leader of the Midoriya group, it was not the first time a deal was made with them so the standard procedure was enough to guarantee safety, also the safehouse had already been used before for the same purposes so they aware of blind spots and scape routs. The leader of the Midoriya group insisted on Asami being there personally due the kind and amount of weapons involved so he was attending, hoping to also have a business chat with Midoriya to establish future smuggling routes.

 

They arrived at the safehouse at midnight, Kirishima stayed in Sion while Asami and Suoh went to the deal, Suoh got the door of the limo open for Asami to get off, and then followed his boss into the building, several of his men were guarding the surroundings and some other were already inside waiting for his employer to arrive but Midoriya and his men were not there yet.

 

Ten minutes later Asami was smoking his second cigarette trying to figure out why the other man was late, the first thing that man would have to do when he arrived was to explain his delay, nobody was to keep Asami Ryuichi waiting.

 

***

 

Akihito was bored, it was almost midnight and his target was nowhere to be seen, just as he was starting to believe it was another fake deal the man arrived, dressed in a designer suit a tall dark haired man entered the room below him, followed by a couple of men dressed in black.

 

_´Got you, smile for the camera Maeda Yoshiyuki´_

 

Akihito started to snap some photos of Maeda and his men, nothing illegal was being done but it’s always good to have some fresh photos of dirty politician faces.

 

 Moments later another man came, also tall and with a black hat on his head successfully hiding his face from Akihito, they greeted each other but they didn’t mention each other names so Akihito started mentally referring to the unknown man as _Hattie._ The building was big but every single sound went echoing through the walls, allowing Akihito to listen and take notes of everything that was being said. After some trivial chat between the Hattie and Maeda they stayed silent for a while until Hattie left the room only to return a couple of seconds later holding a large chain in his left hand and a gun in his right one, Aki’s eyes widened at the sight of what was being lashed with the chain: a group of at least 20 women, barefooted, dirty and clearly terrified. Akihito snapped from his shock and started shooting more photos, fire of resolution shining in his blue eyes, he couldn’t help the women in that moment without being captured, but he was going to make sure to publish the story so Maeda was arrested and hopefully that would lead to capture Hattie too.

 

“Do you like my merchandise? It’s fresh, just arrived yesterday” Hattie said with a cheeky grin in his face.

 

“Not that fresh, they are skinny, must been somewhere else before they got to you. Well, not that I mind, the weaker they are the easiest the drugs kick in”.

 

Hattie passed the chain to one of Maeda’s men, Akihito snapped another shoot, it was perfect, there was no chance for Maeda to leave peacefully out of this one, Aki was focusing on how deep he was going to sink that man when Hattie spoke again.

 

“By the way, about our other business, how is it going?” This got Akihito’s attention, another business meant more dirt to make public, also more people to help.

 

“Perfect, it’s going to be done tonight; actually it will start in a couple of minutes”.

 

“Good, remember that is your payment for today’s deal”.

 

“Of course, but I’m curious, why Asami Ryuichi?”

 

“Because he’s in my way, so make sure you are successful tonight, with him dead we can make better deals”.

 

Both men said nothing more, just nodded politely and parted ways, leaving a shocked photographer processing the last part of their conversation. Asami was in danger; they had a plan to take him down and were going to make it happen soon. Aki knew Asami was into something tonight, he had a tip of his smuggling deal in Shinjuku _‘They will try something during the deal’._

Aki didn’t wasted more time, he took out his phone and sent a text to Asami then he sprinted his way out of the building and to his bike, if he was fast enough maybe he could make it on time.

 

He drove as fast as his Vespa allowed, he was sure he had broken at least a dozen traffic laws but at the time he couldn’t care less, Akihito just wanted to get to Shinjuku as fast as possible, warn Asami before it was too late. He saw the safehouse Asami was in a couple of blocks away, everything seemed normal and he released a breath he hadn’t notice was holding, he sped a little more his bike, feeling glad to be on time when suddenly his heart stopped: hundreds of little flashes started to dance trough the safehouse windows, glass exploding everywhere and people with large guns entering the safehouse shooting merciless at every moving thing.

 

Akihito stopped in shock, he was late, hell had broken loose and Asami was in the middle of it.

 

TBC.


	2. Unexpected help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito arrived to the safehouse just to find an unilateral war zone, with Asami in danger the photographer decides to do something about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos, they make me really happy and actually encouraged me to write this sooner, so here is the second chapter, hope you like it.
> 
> Please remember English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, so if you could please tell me of any you find I would appreciate that greatly.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 2. UNEXPECTED HELP**

 

His second cigarette was about to finish, ten minutes had passed since the scheduled time and still were no signs of the Midoriya group, Asami was about to light his third one when his phone buzzed in his pocket indicating a new text message. Asami couldn’t avoid to feel surprised seeing it was from Akihito, he was supposed to be on a stake out; immediately he checked it thinking it might be a help request from his blond boy. Golden eyes flashed with surprise as he read the message.

 

“ _Deal is a trap, Get out of there!”_

Asami didn’t stop to question if what he read was true, he immediately turned to face Suoh.

 

“Get everyone moving, we are leaving through route 3, it’s a trap.”

 

Suoh saw the serious look on his boss’s face and started shouting orders through the radio to his men while he and Asami moved to the back of the safehouse, just a few seconds later glass shattered as bullets came through the windows, Suoh pushed his boss to the ground to protect him from the attack.

 

“Route 3 is compromised, Asami-sama, I can’t contact the outside teams, they must be down.”

 

“We will have to reach another escape route ourselves.”

 

Asami unholstered his gun and started to shoot back, Suoh and the remaining men inside did the same.

 

***

 

Akihito was in shock, every time he heard of Asami in a shooting he always thought it was Asami shooting someone, not the other way round and seeing the now not-so-safehouse covered in bullet holes knowing his partner was inside wasn’t really helping his nerves.

 

He stopped his bike and hided it some bushes nearby and started to get closer to the house careful to not be seen, always hiding in the shadows.  He reached a house with easy access to the rooftop and climbed his way up there, once on the top and positive no one was guarding any of the rooftops he jumped from one rooftop to the next one until he was in the closest one to the safehouse. Akihito could not get nearer; the safehouse was ridiculously big and had an also ridiculously big garden surrounding it. He grabbed his phone and speed dialed Kirishima.

 

“Takaba-kun, I don’t have time for your tantrums right now.” Kirishima sounded stressed; it was pretty obvious he only had picked up Akihito’s call to avoid a future constant annoyance if he ignored it.

 

“I Know!!! Asami is under fire!!!” Akihito shouted to him in an attempt to stop the secretary from hanging up.

 

 “How do you know that?” The attempt was successful, now he had Kirishima’s undivided attention.

 

“That’s not important right now, I sent him a message to warn him as soon as I found out but I don’t know if he saw it on time, you must have communication with someone inside since you know the situation, Is he alright?,  let me talk to him.”

 

“Yes he is fine but I will not communicate him with you; now leave me alone so I can figure out how to help them out.”

 

“I have a perfect view of the whole safehouse from the rooftop next to it, I can help.”

 

Silence was the only thing heard on the other side of the line, Akihito was starting to think Kirishima had left him talking alone until the secretary sighed and spoke again.

 

“Fine.”

 

***

 

Asami, Suoh and four guards were doing their best to keep themselves alive, they have already lost half of their men in the initial shooting and another two trying to reach safety as all the escape routes of the first floor were compromised with several men in combat gear and large guns entering through each one of them, now Asami and his guards were trying to reach the stairs to the second floor hoping it was not compromised as well, it was their only chance to get out alive.

 

“Backup ETA?, Kirishima” Asami was shooting with one hand and grabbing the phone to coordinate with Kirishima with the other.

 

“Ten more minutes, Asami-sama.”

 

“Make them five, they are cornering us.”

 

“Yes, sir”

 

“Ummm… Sir, Takaba-kun is calling me.”

 

“Tell him we don’t have time for him now.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama”

 

Just as they were finally reaching the stairs Kirishima’s voice was heard again on the other side of the line.

 

“Speak.”

 

Asami was about to ask what was going on until a familiar voice caught his attention.

 

“Asami?”

 

“I don’t have time for you right now, Akihito.”

 

“I know, you are busy getting your ass kicked. I have a perfect complete view of the outside of the house you are in, I can help you find a way out of there.”

 

“Where are you?”

 

“Next rooftop.”

 

“Make sure no one sees you, can you see if the second floor is being guarded?”

 

“Looks empty, windows are broken but I don´t see signs of anybody inside.”

 

“Thank you, little monkey”

 

 Asami’s group wasted no time to climb the stairs to the second floor, just as Akihito had said it was empty, two guards stayed by the stairs to keep anybody from getting close while Asami, Suoh and the other two guards made their way through the rooms searching for a safe escape route.

 

“Three small vans arriving at the south entrance”

 

“What about the north?”

 

“Two large ones parked at the north, one man is standing there giving orders, I think he is the leader. The front garden has at least twenty of them waiting; the ones of the small vans in the back are entering now.”

 

“ETA?, Kirishima”

 

“Two more minutes, Asami-sama. I gave the order to use lethal force.”

 

“Good, inform them Akihito is on the rooftops, if they see him they must protect him”.

 

“It’s done, sir.”

 

Asami’s group continued searching the second floor of the house for an escape route or hidden enemies, they went through every single door but found nothing, if they didn’t came up with something fast they were going to be cornered again.

A loud crash followed by the characteristic sound of a bullet rain alerted them of a mini-war happening in the outside, backup must have just arrived.

 

“Asami-sama, we are here, we will try to make our way to the house and clear a path for you.”

 

Before Asami could answer him a round of bullets hit one of the remaining guards by his side, they fired back and entered one of the rooms nearby, locking the door once all three men were inside.

 

“We lost the stairs, we are trapped in a room and running out of ammo.”

  

Kirishima started to panic, he knew the situation was critical and there was no way his team could make their way through the garden, clear the first floor, clear the stairs and take down the attackers of the second floor before they found their boss.

 

“Takaba-kun, find an escape route for them through the roofs, you will guide them.”

 

“Eh??? And how am I supposed to do that?”

 

“I DON’T KNOW! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CLIMBS BUILDINGS FOR A LIVING!”

 

“It’s impossible for them to escape through the roofs, the damn surrounding garden is just gigantic, not even I could jump that distance without killing myself in the process.”

 

“…..”

 

“Wait, what about a tree? There’s a tree tall enough to climb it down in the south, if you could make your way to the room at the end of the hall you can jump to it through the window. What do you think Asami, feel like playing Tarzan?”

 

“We’ll do it. Kirishima, clear the back ASAP.”

 

Asami didn’t wait for a response, immediately he, Suoh and the only guard remaining left the temporary safety of the room and started shooting their way to the end of the hall. Fortunately the enemies that had made it to the second floor weren’t too many; the confrontation in the first floor was barbaric so some of them had retreated to help in the war zone. The exchange of fire was quick and deadly, the guard with them got shot in his right leg but managed to neutralize at least 4 of the shooters, Suoh and Asami took down the rest.

 

Helping the injured guard, Asami and Suoh reached the room Akihito had told them about, Asami was the first one to jump to the tree, once he had a nice grip on it he helped the guard who was almost thrown out the window by Suoh, finally Suoh himself was the last one to be lost between leafs and branches. Making their way down Asami heard Akihito’s voice again:

 

“Who is the monkey now?”

 

Asami only chuckled.

               

***

 

Akihito was crouched on his spot watching everything develop in front of him, he saw the vans and cars arriving at top speed, he saw one of them purposely crash to one of the attacker’s ones to take down all the men inside it, his eyes widened when he recognized Kirishima getting out of one of the cars and bark orders. Using his camera Akihito zoomed the secretary, he looked tense and clearly angry, Aki could swear the veins of Kirishima’s head were about to explode and he couldn’t really blame him. The young photographer decided to ignore the fact that the man actually yelled at him at the top of his lunges through the phone, instead he focused completely in finding another escape route for Asami’s group.

 

His heart raced when he saw again gunshot flashes and glass shattering in the second floor, then his heartbeat began to calm down when he noticed some of the backup teams sweeping the back of the building, Asami was going to be out of there soon, hopefully unharmed.

 

The shooting in the second floor didn’t last long and soon enough he saw a tall dark haired man dressed in a three piece designer suit jump from a window to the tree nearby. _‘How can he look so sexy even jumping to a tree in this kind of situation?’_

Kirishima was already below the tree helping an injured guard down when Asami landed safely next to him, followed by Suoh. Akihito took that view as a signal for his own retreat; he packed his camera in his bag and jumped his way back across rooftops.

 

***

 

“Send all our injured men to the hospital. How many shooters were captured?”

 

“Exactly 43 shooters plus the leader, Asami-sama.”

 

“Send them all to warehouse 4, let the guards have some fun with them but make sure not to kill them all, save the leader for me.”

 

“At once, Asami-sama. I called Hayashi-sensei, she will arrive at the penthouse in 30 minutes to check your wounds.”

 

“Akihito?”

 

“Takaba-kun said to pick him up by the alley two blocks south.”

 

Asami nodded to his secretary, entered the back of the limo driven by a guard and lighted a cigarette, nicotine was needed, it had been a really long night.

 

As soon as they were reaching the alley the crime lord immediately recognized the slim figure expertly climbing down a wall, seconds later the door of the limo opened and the figure sat beside him.

 

Blue eyes locked on his own golden ones.

 

TBC.


	3. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito and Asami are finally together after the incident in the safehouse, with a lot going on communication is not exactly a top priority.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> A slow and quiet chapter before more action strikes in.
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos, actually I wasn't expecting much for this so I'm really surprised of the response and the suport I've been receiving from all of you. Thank you very much!!!!
> 
> Again let me remind you that english is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point them out for me and I will correct them as soon as possible.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome.
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 3. SILENCE**

 

Silence, not a single sound beside the gentle rumble of the engine. Asami didn’t said a word, Akihito did the same, they spent the hole trip to the penthouse just staring outside the windows, occasionally looking to the other but no words left their lips; the only reassurance they needed was the one they had, the presence of the other beside them and their hands locked together in a tight grip.

 

After they arrived to the building Asami dismissed the guard and leaded Akihito to the penthouse, as soon as they opened the door they were greeted by the powerful voice of a woman.

 

“Ah, you finally came, I rushed here because Kirishima-san said it was urgent but you look pretty complete to me.”

 

Asami sighted but Akihito was surprised when he replied to the woman with a light chuckle.

 

“Thank you for coming so fast Hayashi-sensei, I’m afraid Kirishima might had overreacted a little.”

 

Hayashi-sensei started looking him up and down with a bored expression on her face, when she seemed satisfied with her quick check up her brown eyes meet Akihito’s blue ones.

 

“That’s a pretty one you found for yourself, does he have a name or should I call him “boy”?”

 

“He is Takaba Akihito and he lives here with me, so I would appreciate if you address him properly, sensei.”

 

“So Takaba-kun will do, I’m Hayashi Nanami, Asami-san’s personal physician, now I want to go back to sleep if you don’t mind so let’s get to business already, what happened this time Asami –san? You tried to steel someone else’s candies?”

 

Hayashi-sensei leaded their way to the couch and started to look carefully to Asami’s injuries, she asked a few questions the crime lord answered mostly with monosyllables but she didn’t seem to care. Akihito took that opportunity to watch her more closely, the woman was smaller than him even with high heels and her black long hair tied with a bow made her look really young but her voice was firm and full of confidence, a reflection of experience and her strong personality; and by the way she talked to Asami, not caring who the man was and treating him like any other patient, Akihito already liked her.

 

A few minutes later Hayashi-sensei was done with Asami, the man just had a few bruises and scratches caused by the branches of the escape tree, as the doctor stood by the door to take her leave out of the penthouse she looked back at Asami.

 

“Indeed Kirishima-san overreacted, please tell him not to wake me up just to put band aids on you again, I’m sure he can do that for you or you can do it yourself, it’s not rocket science.”

 

And with that she left the penthouse leaving the two together for the rest of the night, or at least that was what Akihito thought, as soon as the door was closed Asami dialed Kirishima and arranged a car to pick him up.

 

“I’m heading back to Sion to clean this mess, keep me posted of your whereabouts just for precaution.”

 

He didn’t wait for an answer, the crime lord stormed out of the room and in the blink of an eye Asami was no longer in the building. The blond photographer just stood in the living room staring at the closed door for a while feeling the anger rising, ‘ _I save your ass and then you just ignore me, play damsel in distress by yourself next time, bastard.’_ After a few minutes he took his camera bag and entered his room, he spent a couple of hours selecting the best shoots to handle to the newspaper in the morning and writing an small article with his notes, when he was done Akihito took a quick shower and instead of going to his own bed he entered the master bedroom to catch some sleep, hopefully when he woke up Asami would be by his side.

 

***

 

His alarm woke him up at the set time to an empty bed, it didn’t surprise him but yet left him feeling kind of lonely. The sky was still dark but the young man wanted to handle the evidence of Maeda’s last night trade as soon as possible, if he made it on time the story could be printed the same day and Maeda could be arrested soon enough to know who he sold the women to.  Akihito changed to his clothes, grabbed his camera and the memory card with his article and the photos. ‘ _Why inform you about my plans, you are not my mother.’_ But even with that thoughts Akihito grabbed his phone and texted Asami.

 

“ _Leaving to the paper, just the Maeda stuff will be printed so don’t pull it off.”_

_“Keep your phone on.”_

That was the only reply Akihito got, ‘ _Bossy bastard’_. He put his phone in his pocket and headed to the paper’s building.

 

***

 

Past noon Akihito was finally leaving his boss’s office, the story was successfully printed and the paper was already being sold, Mitarai complained for him to get the front page and also his boss and the police had requested more information so he had been kept in the office for a while. Now he was finally free and starving so decided to grab something for eat on his way back to the penthouse. As he started walking back to the train station his phone went off.

 

“I’m on my way back so don’t nag me, mom”

 

“Stay where you are, Suoh will pick you up. I want you in Sion, now.”

 

“Bossy bastard.”

 

Soon enough a black limo parked in front of him, he entered the back of it and stared at the driving Suoh.

 

“How did he know where I was?”

 

“Your phone, GPS.”

 

“Fine, he is not just a perverted bastard but also a stalker.”

 

The rest of the drive was done in complete silence. Once they reached Club Sion, Suoh leaded Akihito to Asami’s office, inside they found a stressed Kirishima and a smoking Asami, none of them said or did anything until Akihito broke the silence.

 

“May I know why your gorilla dragged me here, your highness?”

 

“Don’t be a brat, Akihito. You will tell us all you know about last night so we can figure out who set that up.”

 

 Golden eyes stared directly to blue ones, Asami could see the fire burning in them reflecting anger and something he could only describe as defiance. Just as Akihito was about to reply something Kirishima stood in front of his boss and lowered his body to a perfect 90° bow.

 

“Asami-sama, I deeply apologize for my performance, I should have planned more escape routes not just in the first floor but also for the second one, it was a complete lack of vision from me and last night was the outcome of my mistakes, I will accept any punishment you decide for me.”

 

“Stop that Kirishima, we all left our guards down last night, also it was impossible to know someone would use all of our safe routes to attack and keep us trapped inside so it was not only your fault.”

 

The secretary returned to a straight position but maintained his head low, Asami returned his sight to Akihito while he put his now completely smoked cigarette in the ashtray.

 

“Now, Akihito, What do you know?” 

 

Asami’s voice wasn’t frightening anymore, it remained cold but lacking the tell-me-or-I’ll-shoot-you tone so Akihito decided to cooperate without more fuss.

 

“Hattie set it up.”

 

All three men raised an eyebrow but said nothing, waiting for Akihito to continue. He told them all he saw and heard: the human traffic deal between Maeda and Hattie, the small talk about Asami on Hattie’s way and everything he saw from the rooftop next to the safehouse until Asami climbed down the tree.

 

“I never saw Hattie’s face, his voice sounded familiar though”

 

“We will need the photos of the deal.”

 

Akihito handed Kirishima a memory card with all the photos he took both during his stake out and in the safehouse. Asami confirmed that Hattie could not be identified, the man was smart, he wore bigger clothes than needed so they could not tell his body features, he used gloves so there would be no fingerprints and the hat covered perfectly his face.

 

“I want Maeda Yoshiyuki in warehouse 4 immediately.”

 

“That’s not possible, Asami, he was arrested this morning after my story was published.”

 

“Suoh, collect one of the favors our contacts in the police owe us, I want to talk to him tomorrow morning.”

 

The blond bodyguard left the room after a small bow, Asami and Kirishima kept discussing details for the interrogation of the captured shooters while Akihito just stood there, wondering if he should leave or wait until one of the two men remembered his presence. His wonders were cut short as Asami and Kirishima reached the end of their conversation and the crime lord asked him where he wanted to grab something to eat before returning to the penthouse. After sushi was decided to be menu of the day Asami left his office heading to the limo, Akihito was about to follow him when Kirishima grabbed his arm to stop him, the young blond looked at the secretary with questioning eyes.

 

“Takaba-kun, I know we don’t get along pretty much but I want to apologize for my inappropriate voice volume on the phone last night, I’m sorry. Also, your skills were really helpful, the outcome might not have been the same without your assistance, Thank you.”

 

The secretary offered him a low bow and left the room leaving a dumbfounded Akihito staring to the door he just exited, seconds later he followed Kirishima to Asami’s car to make their way back to the penthouse.

 

***

 

Once again silence was the only sound that could be heard inside the limo, Kirishima was driving with his eyes sticked to the road, Asami was smoking what could be his tenth Dunhill of the day and Akihito was staring through the window when the photographer was surprised as he felt a warm hand laying on his own squishing it lightly, Akihito didn’t pull away.

 

After the pair entered the penthouse Akihito immediately made his way to his bedroom only to be stopped by Asami.

 

“Where do you think you are going, kitten?”

 

“None of your business, I’m tired so I want to sleep a couple of hours before dinner, now shuuu!!”

 

“You can do that in my room.”

 

The next thing Akihito knew was that he was in Asami’s shoulder being carried as a sack to the master bedroom, then he was thrown to the bed and he found himself being pinned down in place by Asami.

 

“You were unexpectedly helpful last night, I believe I owe you a reward for your actions.”

 

Without any warning Asami planted his lips on Akihito’s, stealing the boy’s breath until oxygen was needed, by the time he pulled back Akihito was already panting and Asami could feel the blonde’s arousal pressed against his thigh.

 

Not wasting any time, Asami’s hands started wandering through his boy’s body, touching gently every inch of skin and removing all the clothes on their way, soon enough every piece of clothing was gone and Akihito was reduced to a moaning mess under Asami’s touch. The crime lord bitted gently his earlobe before whispering directly to the blonde’s ear.

 

“I’ll be gentle, you better enjoy it.”

 

***

 

Some minutes past midnight Asami was lying on his bed still trying to decipher how his security was passed, why Midoriya had betrayed him and who the man with that hat was. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and felt the warmth by his side move a little, golden eyes looked down at the young man curled up to his side, after a number of slow steamy rounds Akihito was dead to the world using Asami’s shoulder as a pillow, maybe it was time for himself to relax and have some rest. He buried his face in the mop of blond hair and inhaled his scent before whispering to the sleeping man.

 

“Thank you, kitten.”

 

Holding his kitten closer, Asami drifted to a peaceful slumber.

 

***

 

The room was dark, as always the windows were blocked and the smell of Tabaco filled the air. Sitting on a chair behind a large desk a man was smoking peacefully while listening to his secretary’s report.

 

“Sir, the strike failed, Asami Ryuichi is alive and without injuries, all of the hit men were killed or captured and Maeda was arrested.”

 

“It’s ok, I never expected that scumbag to be successful, take care of him before he becomes a nuisance, anything else?”

 

“A cameraman was seen on the rooftop next to the safehouse, according to the report he seemed to be informing about the strike to someone on the phone, we believe it was to one of Asami’s men.”

 

“Name?”

 

“Takaba Akihito, crime photographer for “Daily Times” and freelance photographer for a number of fashion magazines, he made public Maeda’s dirty business that leaded to his arrest, also….”

 

“Also?”

 

“Rumor has it he is Asami Ryuichi’s boy toy.”

 

“A crime photographer with no survival sense can be a bother, also taking one of Asami’s toys away from him would be fun,  get rid of this sex toy of his.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The man put his cigarette on the ashtray and after he saw his secretary leave in a rush he lighted another one, he was just getting started.

 

TBC.


	4. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami arrives at warehouse 4, he wants information and his attackers will have to face the consequences of messing with the wrong crime lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Thank you so much four your comments and kudos on the last chapter, they make me really happy.
> 
> I will give you a warning for this one: PLEASE MIND THE TAGS, graphic depictions of violence and torture ahead so read at your own risk, if you are sensible to this topics please skip to the notes at the end of the chapter where you will find a little summary of the main events so you don’t lose track in the next chapters. You have been warned!!!
> 
> Once again let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point them out or ask me if something is not clear and I will correct it.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 4. CONSEQUENCES**

Sunlight slid trough the corners of the windows and its warmth gently caressed his cheek, he stirred a little and without opening his eyes he focused on the sensations surrounding his body. The softness of the sheets he was wrapped in, the smell of expensive cigarettes mixed with shampoo and lotion, the sound of deep even breaths from the sleeping man by his side, the warmth of the first sunlight of the day on one of his cheeks, the warmth of a strong chest below the other one and the warmth of the naked body next to his. Akihito noticed he had his arms wrapped around that other body while that other body had his own wrapping him in a loose yet firm embrace, the young man cuddled closer tightening his arms around Asami’s waist and immediately felt the man’s embrace tighten as well in response.

 

“Good morning, kitten.”

 

“Good morning.”

 

Akihito didn’t open his eyes but he was sure Asami had a smirk on his face.

 

“No ‘bastard’ today?”

 

“Bastard.”

 

A light chuckle left Asami’s throat and he started caressing Akihito’s back with his hand until the photographer made a low moan, Asami’s hand began to reach lower at every touch.

 

“ You really enjoyed yourself last night, don’t you?”

 

“No comments.”

 

Akihito buried his face deeper in Asami’s chest to hide his bright red face, but also as an attempt to prevent more moans to leave his lips as Asami’s touch was making his willpower weaker every second.

 

“Even if you don’t say it your body tells me, but I really want to hear it so maybe I should make you say it. You will not be able to resist, you will say it to me.”

 

 That clicked something inside the young photographer, blush forgotten he opened his eyes and raised his head to look directly into golden orbs, stubborn fire sparkled in his blue eyes accompanied with a mischievous grin.

 

“Try me, old man.”

 

“My pleasure, cheeky brat.”

 

***

 

A couple of hours later Asami was fully dressed in his three piece suit, he glanced at the bed his boy was sleeping in before exiting the room ‘ _You are truly a stubborn one, kitten.’_ As he was making his way through the living room the doorbell rang, it was Kirishima, the limo was ready.

 

The ride on the limo was quiet and Asami took that time to phone Suoh about Maeda.

 

“I’m sorry Asami-sama, there are a lot of lawyers and security making impossible to anyone to get near Maeda, I will have to pull some strings here to make it happen but it might take a while, there’s too much commotion right now.”

 

“Fine, I don’t care if you use not-so-legal methods, just make it as quick as possible, have Kuroda help you if you need it but I want to talk to Maeda today.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

Asami ended the call and let his thoughts run free as he stared outside the window. ‘ _Lawyers? Well, after the published information he obviously needs them, also the man who hired him might want him dead to protect his identity but if even Suoh is not able to get near him that seems pretty unlikely, the only option left is to retrieve him to assure his silence. What benefit did Maeda would have gained by taking me down? Akihito said something about more deals with the hat man, what kind of deals? Human traffic? I don’t have any routes, that’s not my business. Maybe drugs for his slaves, or weapons._ Asami’s thoughts were cut short as he realized the limo was not moving anymore and he heard his secretary’s voice by his side, he was holding the door open.

 

“Asami-sama, we are here.”

 

Asami nodded to Kirishima and got off the limo, he had a lot of questions but maybe some of the gentleman “waiting” for him might have some answers for him.

 

Warehouse 4, one of the multiple warehouses used for interrogation purposes the crime lord owned, completely soundproof and isolated from the city it was perfect for holding large groups hostage without worries. The guards inside it bowed as he made his way where the captured shooters were held, footsteps echoing behind him.

 

He entered a big room and couldn’t fell more pleased at the sight, his guards had made a good job. Forty three men were tied to each other and to metal posts in groups of four to three people, all of them had visible bruises and cuts all over their bodies and some of them were already dead but remained tied to their companions, a single man was tied alone to a separate post where he could see all of the others.  A guard approximated Asami and bowed, Asami nodded in recognition and got to business.

 

“Numbers, Shibata.”

 

“Sixty five men in total between original shooters, logistics, reinforcements and watchers plus the leader. Twenty two killed on the scene, their bodies had already been disposed of. Forty three captured plus the leader, they are all here. As you ordered we allowed some guards to have some fun with them and fourteen couldn’t make it through the warm up, that leaves twenty nine to go plus the leader, he is unharmed except for the injuries from his capture.”

 

Asami took a cigarette from his pocket and lighted it, after a few smokes he started pacing in front of the captured men, his eyes shining in delight as he saw the fear and panic in the eyes of the ones that were conscious enough to recognize him.  He made his way to the leader, stopped in front of him and looked directly into his eyes.

 

“Sixty five men for a single operation is an awful lot.”

 

“Against you feels not even a hundred are enough, everything was going fine until your backup got there, lucky bastard.”

 

“Indeed I am a very lucky man but also a very angry one, you killed two of my best teams. Now, you are going to tell me everything about you, your group, your boss and whoever ordered that strike if you don’t want to experience all of their wounds and pain on your own flesh.”

 

The leader knew Asami really meant that, not only the piercing cold eyes that were staring at him but also the cold, firm and impassive voice made evident Asami’s anger, he really meant every single word. Despite the fear he was feeling and ignoring his throbbing heartbeat the leader didn’t pull away his gaze, he kept looking directly at Asami’s eyes.

 

“I will not say anything, we all made a vow, we will NEVER betray Maeda-sama.”

 

“As you wish, you will have to deal with the consequences of targeting me. Let’s play a game, but not just you and me, all of your friends will participate.”

 

Asami changed his position but stayed close to the leader making sure the man was able to see all of his captured men. Without looking away from the man Asami started giving orders to the guards.

 

“Shibata, I want one guard for each group of them, I believe we have enough baseball bats.”

 

“Yes Asami-sama, we have. “

 

And with just one glance to the guards Shibata got them moving to their positions.

 

“These are the rules, I’ll make a question and the guard from each group will select the one to answer it, if they don’t answer they will receive a punishment.”

 

Gasps and heavy breath were audible, the captured men knew what was going to be their fate, their panicked faces revealed their thoughts.

 

“First question.  Who are you?”

 

Silence. Not even a sound. Asami gave a small nod and all the guards used their baseball bats against their targets, finally sounds could be heard: gasps, low screams, flesh breaking, some bones cracked. Asami pressed his own cigarette against the leader’s arm, the smell of burned flesh flooded his nostrils but the man didn’t make a noise.

 

“Playing tough, how silly, who are you?”

 

Silence again, another nod, sounds again. The same pattern continued several times. Question, silence, nod, punishment, question, silence, nod, punishment. The same question had been asked several times until finally a low voice was heard, it was pained and weak, almost a whisper.

 

“Cle…clean….cleaning team.”

 

Asami gave another nod, all the targets were punished again except for the young man the whisper belonged to.

 

“We have a winner. So you are Maeda’s cleaning team, why target me?”

 

“We… we… don’t know, Maeda-sama never tells us… and we don´t ask.”

 

“Beside the cleaning job and his dirty politics, what other business Maeda does?”

 

“J-just… human… traffic… a small network.”

 

“Drugs?”

 

“I…. don’t know.”

 

“Weapons?”

 

“Don’t… know.”

 

“Who he makes deals with?”

 

“D-don’t know…”

 

Asami sighted, not a single lead, It was pretty obvious the cleaning team followed Maeda’s orders blindly.

 

“Thank you. You will be rewarded, no more pain for you.”

 

Another nod. The guard in front of the man untied him, lowered his bloody baseball bat and raised his gun instead, a loud bang was heard and the young man fell limp to the floor with a gunshot between his eyes.

 

“Everyone left is useless, dispose of them.”

 

 Baseball bats swung full force, some guards decided to use their own fists, others chose to use different weapons but beside all the diversity of methods the outcome was the same: top lungs screams, blood spattering, bones breaking, limbs missing, and finally bloody and bruised lifeless bodies hitting the floor.  Asami reached for another cigarette, lighted and smoked it ignoring completely the blood bath meters ahead, still looking straight into the leader’s eyes, when the warehouse was finally at silence again he directed to Shibata.

 

“Tie him to a chair, his hands extended on the front.”

 

The guards wasted no time to fulfill the orders, soon enough the leader was firmly tied to a chair, his hands were extended to the front and his arms were tied to the chair arms, both of the man’s arms were covered with burn marks made by Asami’s cigarette and the rope tying them to the chair felt like it was cutting his arms off. Asami placed himself in front of him again and saw Kirishima passing him another chair, he took it and sat on it.

 

“Why target me?”

 

The leader kept silent but spitted directly to Asami’s shoes with a grin. Asami didn’t move, seconds later Kirishima was passing him another object, small, metallic. Cigarette cutter. The crime lord took it and hold one of the leader’s hands, slid a finger through the hole and stayed like that a few seconds enjoying the panicked breaths of the man. Chop. Red, a loud scream, one finger gone.

 

  Asami slid another finger and did the same, over and over again. Six fingers later, sweating, completely pale and panting through the pain, the leader spoke weakly.

 

“I-it was…. a p-pact… with some guy… your h-head… for s-sex slaves…”

 

“Who is the guy?”

 

Silence. Another finger.

 

“D-don’t know…. I… n-never saw him.”

 

Another finger.

 

“It’s… the… truth…”

 

Asami unholstered his gun and pressed it against the leader’s head, he didn’t hesitate, Asami looked into his eyes and pulled the trigger. The crime lord was pissed, even with that many hostages he couldn’t get hold of any lead toward the hat man, the only one that could identify him had to be Maeda. Asami walked out of the warehouse followed closely by Kirishima, he was going to have a talk to Maeda even if he had to kill every single lawyer in his way himself. Maeda was the only lead left.

 

As he was entering the limo his phone buzzed in his pocket, Suoh’s voice was heard on the other side of the line and it didn’t sound like having good news.

 

“Asami-sama…”

 

“What is it Suoh?”

 

“Sir, Maeda Yoshiyuki was just found dead inside his cell.”

 

***

 

In a dark room a man was standing by a large window staring at the city below with a cigarette between his lips. The pieces were starting to move slowly, the game was on. The door opened and his secretary entered the room.

 

“It’s done, Sir.”

 

“Perfect. What about the sex toy?”

 

“Everything ready, just waiting your orders.”

 

The man took a deep smoke and released it slowly to the window.

 

“Go.”

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for those of you who decided to skip the chapter here is a little summary:
> 
> Suoh is having some problems arranging Maeda and Asami’s meeting because of a bunch of lawyers in his way, meanwhile Asami gets to the warehouse where the captured shooters are being held. Asami interrogates them and finds out that they are part of Maeda’s “cleaning” team and the strike against him was a deal between Maeda and an unknown man (Hattie) but they have never seen him. Asami decides to make Maeda tell him everything about Hattie but after he finished off Maeda’s men Suoh arrives to inform him that Maeda was found dead.


	5. Targeted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito is back at his normal days after the incident on the safehouse but peace doesn’t last long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> Here is the fifth chapter, some action strikes in to shake everything a little, I hope you like it.
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos on this work, it means a lot.
> 
> As always let me remind you that English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point them out and I will correct them.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 5. TARGETED**

 

His alarm went off, Akihito rolled in the enormous bed feeling the soreness all over his body and he couldn’t help the low grunt that left his throat. As the photographer opened his eyes he distinguished the soft sheets he was wrapped in, the cloud like pillow under his head and the now cold and empty side of the bed.

 

With wobbly legs he made his way to take a shower and then to assault the fridge in search for something for breakfast, he was really tired but had a schedule to follow. An hour later he was leaving the penthouse with his camera bag, ready to start a new busy day.

 

Akihito spent the rest of the morning in the newspaper office, he decided to do some follow up of Maeda’s case but every single clue leaded to nothing so he dropped it and helped out some of his hurried coworkers, as there were no more stories for him for a while he called it a day and made his way out. As the young photographer was leaving the building his editor reached out to him, a serious look on his face.

 

“Going home for the day, Takaba?”

 

“Sort of, I don’t have anything else to do here for today so I’m going to my next job.”

 

“Busy eh? That’s fine, I just want to tell you something.”

 

“What is it?  

 

“About the Maeda case, you know he is famous for his “cleaning” jobs, he might call something on you, be careful.”

 

“Everything is public now and he was arrested, if he called something on me that wouldn’t do anything for him but make him look guiltier.”

 

“That’s right, but also remember he has no way out of this and you put him in that situation, it might not benefit him but he could act on vengeance against you, adding one more in his corpse count doesn’t make any difference for him right now.  I suggest you to stay low for a while until all this calms a little, just as precaution.”

 

“Ok, I’ll think about it and let you know.”

 

After a light nod the editor went back to his office and Akihito left the building, his editor’s words echoing in his brain ‘ _cleaning’ ‘vengeance’ ‘corpse count’_. Indeed his boss had a point, Akihito couldn’t tell if he was completely safe or in imminent danger, at least not for the next few days until Maeda was properly processed and everything calmed down a little. Staying low sounded as the right option, that way he could guarantee his own safety and also he could have a break, the extra sleeping hours looked so appealing. So a break was decided, he would tell his boss later, now he had a last small job before the mini vacations.

 

The following three hours were just perfect, the smiling kids playing cheerfully, some of them being curious about his camera and his job. The director of the orphanage approached him also smiling brightly, he had never imagined the kids would enjoy the photo shoot that much.

 

“Thank you Takaba-san, all the kids enjoyed themselves so much and you were so good to them, I think some of them got interested in photography.”

 

“That’s good to hear, I will send you the photos during the week, I have at least one of each of them individually and a lot of them playing, I really hope it will help for your publicity and for them to get adopted.”

 

“Sure it will, we cannot thank you enough, we know what you will get paid is not much for all your hard work.”

 

“Please don’t mind, their smiles is the only payment I need.”

 

He continued snapping more shoots, the last ones for the day. Some kids looked quite disappointed when they realized he was packing his camera and saying his goodbyes to the director and the teachers of the orphanage. In the end he left the place with the sight of all the children lined up in the entrance waving their little hands, “Bye bye Aki-sensei!!”. Akihito waved back at them and continued his way back to the penthouse with a lot of pictures of smiling and hopeful children, a warmed heart and a promise to come back.

 

The young blond had walked a couple of blocks when he was certain about something: he was being followed. Since he had left the orphanage three men were walking behind him at some distance, stopping when he stopped, continued when he resumed walking, never took their eyes away from him. Akihito didn’t recognize either of them, the taller one completely bald, the shorter one with his hair dyed bright red and the other with a big mustache, they made a pretty weird group and their tattoos visible in various parts of their bodies didn’t shout discretion.

 

His mind raced with all the options possible but most likely they were Maeda’s men, his editor was right and now he had to act fast if he wanted to have his vacations in the comfort of his bed and not the bottom of Tokyo bay. They were three of them but he was certain no one knew the city as he did so he had an advantage. Akihito continued walking normally and suddenly raced through an alley, his pursuers followed behind running at top speed in an attempt to avoid losing him, they hadn´t expect the photographer to be so fast. Akihito navigated expertly through the alleys, turning on the right spots, jumping over containers and boxes and always missing the dead ends but the men running behind him showed no signs of giving up, just as Akihito was flying above some containers he noticed there were only two men pursuing him, one of them was missing.

 

He didn’t had time to think if he had lost the third man when he felt a wave of blunt pain on his side and was falling to the ground, he hadn’t lost the third man, he had gone ahead and had hit him with a metal pole.

 

Struggling to breathe and not to lose his stomach contents, Akihito managed to get up just in time to avoid a second blow and look at the man’s eyes. Mustache swung the metal pole again but Akihito was able to avoid it again ignoring the pain, his eyes scanned the alley to find an escape route but the other two men arrived in time to stop any attempt. Mustache in one side, Red and Bald in the other and an aching blond young man in the middle, Akihito was trapped.

 

He knew he was trapped but that didn’t mean he was going to stand there waiting for them to kill him, Akihito fought back.

 

The fight didn’t last long though, the photographer connected a few strong kicks to Red that left the man temporarily out of combat, he somehow managed to get rid of the metal pole and left Mustache unconscious against a container, Bald however proved to be much more difficult to take down, they exchange punches and kicks for a few minutes but the man was tough and kept obstructing his way to flee, finally Akihito was able to land a powerful punch straight to Bald’s jaw making the man stumble backwards, Akihito turned on his heels ready to run at top speed when burning pain spread through his side, his head spun, his vision blurred and he fell to the ground, the last thing Akihito saw before everything went black was Red standing in front of him with a stun gun in his hand.

 

***

 

Gasoline, that smell was the first thing he noticed when he came to, then came the pain. His ribs on his left side hurted so much he was sure there was an enormous bruise covering them. Keeping his eyes closed he noticed he was laying on his stomach, the surface he was on was moving with a gentle rumble, he was in vehicle, most likely in a van as his body fitted completely straightened, also he was untied.

 

“He’s got a pretty face.”

 

There was one of the men by his side.

 

“Yeah, what do you think guys? Feel like having some fun before getting the job done?”

 

“Don’t know, the boss said to make it quick.”

 

The other two sounded a little far, they should be on the front of the van. The man by his side spoke again.

 

“He said to get rid of Asami Ryuichi’s pet, he didn’t said we can’t have some fun with him before that, the boss doesn’t need to know; besides we will get rid of him anyway.“

 

“Fine, I’m in, he might have some skills worth trying, but let’s find a place to do it, we don’t have space with the bike here.”

 

Akihito’s heart raced, they were going to kill but they were going to “play” with him before, that wasn´t good. He tried his best to calm down, he needed his head clear to find a way out of that situation, according to one of the men there was a bike in the van, probably next to him but he couldn’t use it, he could take down the man beside him but the other two were on the front and maybe armed, he best option was to wait until the van stopped and they tried to move him, their biggest mistake was to left him untied, they underestimated his capabilities. He would wait.

 

Soon enough the van pulled over and Akihito knew it was time, the back door opened and he felt strong arms pick him up and tossed him over a shoulder, when he felt the cold air he knew he was out of the van, it was show time.

 

His eyes flew open; Akihito pushed his upper body down to propel his legs up and with firm precision connected a foot to Bald’s face with all his force. Bald stumbled and fell backwards, dropping Akihito. The  photographer rolled when his body hit the floor and stood up as fast as he could, Red and Mustache stared at him surprised, they hadn’t expect that, the surprise look in their faces transformed into anger when they realized Akihito had broken Bald’s nose.

 

Red took out the stun gun and Mustache had knifes in both of his hands, it wasn’t going to be easy. They fought, Akihito to get a chance to escape and the other two to capture him again, by the time a bloody faced Bald joined the struggle Akihito already had some deep cuts in his arms and a bruised cheek, but Red had lost his stun gun and Mustache had a big black eye, his opponents were getting weaker and he took the first chance he saw, Akihito kicked Red on a knee as hard as he could and heard a crack, Red fell to the ground hugging his knee, then the photographer managed to punch Bald again in his already broken nose who stumbled backwards holding his bleeding face. That’s when Akihito saw it, the opening he was looking for, Red curled on the floor, Bald wasn’t looking at him and Mustache wasn’t near enough to get a grip of him so in a few seconds Akihito was flying above Red and sprinting to the nearest alley.

 

He ran as fast as his legs allowed him, Akihito didn’t dare to look back but when he heard footsteps and the roar of an engine following him he knew this wasn’t over. The photographer looked for something up the buildings, the footsteps behind him were getting close and suddenly a blue motorcycle was approaching him form the front, Red was riding it. His blood went cold but as he started feeling cornered again he saw what he was looking for: an emergency ladder. Without second thoughts he speed more and jumped, grabbing the ladder with both hands and pushing his body up just in time to miss Red’s hand trying to grab him from the bike.

 

Akihito climbed the ladder to the top of the building, he could hear Mustache and Bald following him below. The photographer reached the rooftop and took a second to scan his surroundings and decide a route, he found it and got moving again, Mustache and Bald reached the rooftop to see Akihito approaching the edge of the building at top speed and without hesitation the blond jumped.

 

If he couldn’t miss them on ground level he would change locations to the sky.

 

Akihito kept jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he could hear Mustache and Bald doing the same but they were falling behind at each building, they didn’t had Akihito’s practice in parkour, also he could hear the bike rumbling below, Red was following him from the ground. A few buildings later Akihito was startled by a loud scream: Mustache hadn’t made it through the last jump, which left him with Bald and Red to lose.

 

Red was pretty easy to get rid of, even with the bike he wasn´t fast enough to keep tailing Akihito jumping in the rooftops, just a few minutes after Mustache’s fall, Red was nowhere to be found. Bald on the other hand was a persistent bastard, he was falling behind but managed to keep Akihito on sight so the young man decided to do something more risky, he slowed down until Bald was only a rooftop behind, then when his pursuer landed on the same rooftop Akihito ran as fast as possible being followed closely by Bald who speeded more in an intent to catch the blond, suddenly the photographer changed direction and jumped the gap between two buildings. Akihito rolled as he landed on the next building, he stood up to see Bald attempt the jump but the man had been to focused on catching his pray that he didn’t realized the gap was much larger than the ones he had jumped before, the man stretched all his muscles but it wasn’t enough, his fingers brushed the edge of the roof and gravity made its job.

 

Akihito was finally alone, with his three pursuers gone he focused the rest of his energies to make, or jump in his case, his way back to the penthouse. In the middle of the way he realized Sion was closer and he was tired after nearly two hours of persecution so Sion was his new goal.

 

He arrived at Sion and approached the building through the back entrance, the guard recognized him and let him in, as Akihito walked to the elevator he heard the guard communicating through the radio.

 

***

 

Suoh was standing in the middle of his own office with his head low, golden eyes watching him closely.

 

“What happened, Suoh?”

 

“I don´t know Asami-sama, no one seems to know, I tried in all the ways possible to get hold of information but it’s like it doesn’t exist. Maeda Yoshiyuki died from unknown causes.”

 

Asami was about to speak again when Kirishima entered the room.

 

“Asami-sama, the guard post at the back entrance reported Takaba-kun entering the building; he is waiting you at your office.”

 

The crime lord gave a nod to his secretary, he would see Akihito after taking care of this matter. Kirishima didn’t left.

 

“Sir, he is injured.”

 

 That made the trick, Asami walked out of the office after giving Suoh another look.

 

“I need the information, he was the only lead left, find it.”

 

He didn’t wait to Suoh’s response, he stormed out the room and lead his way back to his office followed by his secretary. When he opened the  door of his office the first thing he saw was the blond man standing by the large window staring at the city below, the second thing he noticed was the blood on the blonde’s arms.

 

“Kirishima, get Hayashi-sensei here.”

 

“Yes Asami-sama.”

 

Once Kirishima was gone Asami reached to Akihito, the photographer hadn’t noticed him yet, he was lost deep in his own thoughts.

 

“May I know what you got yourself into this time, Akihito?”

 

The blond man jumped at the sound of the crime lord’s voice, he turned to meet his eyes.

 

“Nothing serious.”

 

“Your arms don’t say the same thing, you might need stitches.”

 

Akihito looked at his arms, with the adrenaline pumping through his veins they didn’t hurt at all so the deep cuts were forgotten during the run. Now with his heart beating at a normal pace and the adrenaline vanishing from his system he started to feel some pain and the amount of blood running through them wasn’t helping the image of “nothing serious.”

 

“Oh, I forgot about those.”

 

Asami raised an eyebrow.

 

“This has to do something with the Maeda case, doesn’t it?”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

Asami was clearly confused, it had to be Maeda, that was the only business his photographer had gotten involved into lately. If it wasn’t Maeda then someone else was moving at the same time using the dirty politician as distraction. _‘But a distraction for what?’_

 

“They mentioned you.”

 

TBC.


	6. Bodyguard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito tells Asami about his almost kidnap and persecution, the crime lord is concerned about the photographer’s safety and decides to do something about it… even if said photographer doesn’t want it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> I’m so sorry for the delay in updating this chapter, life decided it was a good time to play funny things on me so this past two weeks have been really crazy. Anyway, here is the sixth chapter, new characters are introduced, I hope you like it.
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos on this work, I appreciate them greatly.
> 
> As always let me remind you that English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 6. BODYGUARD**

“The cuts were clean and deep but only a few of them needed stiches, you will be fine in a couple of days.”

 

Hayashi-sensei finished bandaging Akihito’s arms and applied some ointment in his bruised cheek.

 

“Your left ribs are pretty bruised but none are broken, we will keep them bandaged for precaution and comfort. Avoid _any_ kind of physical activity for a couple of weeks, take the painkillers if you need them.”

 

Akihito didn’t missed the way Hayashi-sensei emphasized the word ‘ _any’_ while looking at Asami with warning eyes at the same time, the crime lord responded with a light nod and a grin while the photographer experimented a new shade of red on his face. 

 

“Thank you, Hayashi-sensei.”

 

“No problem, Takaba-kun. Try not to get into trouble frequently; I would love to get to know you with some coffee, not blood and stiches.”

 

“I’ll try, sensei.”

 

The woman left the office after giving a polite nod to everyone present, no one said anything until the fading sound of her heels wasn’t audible anymore.

 

“Tell me everything, Akihito.”

 

Asami’s deep voice was firm and the blond young man detected something else on it, something that could only be described as concern covered with an enormous amount of anger. The young photographer stared directly into Asami’s golden orbs and told him everything that had happened that afternoon, the warning from his editor, his first fight with Red, Mustache and Bald, when he reached the kidnapping part Akihito noticed how Asami tensed completely, the crime lord’s anger was on the highest levels when Akihito narrated the conversation between the three men inside the van. Asami relaxed considerably when the blond man spoke about the second fight and the consequent persecution through Tokyo rooftops, by the time Akihito finished his story he noticed a slight smile on Asami’s face, he seemed pleased with his kitten’s actions.

 

“Kirishima, find those three men immediately.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

“You will stay in the penthouse until this cools down. And this is not a negotiation, Akihito.”

 

Akihito didn’t say anything, the photographer let himself be guided to the limo and then to the penthouse without a fuzz, all the adrenaline and emotions of the day left him with no energy to protest, he was just so tired, he only wanted to have some sleep, everything else could wait until the next day.

 

***

 

High heels sound could be heard through a dark corridor, the woman owner of said heels entered an equally dark room filled with cigarette smoke, a tall man smoking by the window.

 

“Sir, the strike failed, the photographer escaped alive.”

 

The smoking man turned to face his secretary; cold gray eyes stared at her, piercing to her very soul.

 

“May I know why? It was a simple task; he is a toy boy photographer, not a top dog.”

 

“I’m afraid it’s all my fault, I underestimated him.”

 

“Who did you send?”

 

“Three of the lowest ranks of the Midoriya group.”

 

“Fine, being such low rats they cannot be linked to us or the Midoriya group. Create some false intelligence, make sure they are mistaken as Maeda’s men seeking revenge, don’t bother to find them, they are disposable.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

The young woman turned to make her leave, she felt the man’s gaze still on her back as she reached the door.

 

***

 

Asami sat in front of the traditional Japanese breakfast Akihito had made for him, since he knew the photographer’s love for food he wasn’t surprised he was such a good cook, every meal was perfect and before he realized it the crime lord was actually looking forward for every one of them and share some time with his kitten. But this was not one of those times.

 

“I said I don’t want any! It’s my life so I have the right to decide!”

 

“You will have one even if you don’t want to, don’t forget you belong to me.”

 

“I’m not a property!”

 

“You are not, but you are mine, and you will have a bodyguard because I say so.”

 

“I don’t want to, I don’t need them. I can perfectly take care of myself.”

 

“You got kidnapped and almost killed yesterday, that is not taking care of yourself.”

 

“And I got away pretty well without you or any of your goons around. The only reason I told you about it is because they mentioned you.”

 

“And I don’t know who send them and their relation to me or my business, so you will have security until I figure out who did it and make them pay.”

 

The discussion went on several more minutes, none of them wishing to let go until their argument was interrupted by a knock in the door followed by Kirishima entering the penthouse.  The crime lord gave a light nod and the secretary signaled someone to enter the room, it was a tall dark haired man with deep black eyes. The man approached them and stood beside Kirishima.

 

“Takaba-kun, this is Shibata Keiichi. He was trained by Suoh himself and is one of our best men, he will be your personal bodyguard starting today.”

 

“He will be with you every time you are not with me, Kirishima or Suoh.”

 

Akihito didn’t say a thing, he knew nothing he said would be considered. The photographer limited on staring wildly at his new guard, his blue eyes reflecting the anger and disagreement on the matter.

 

After the introductions Asami and Kirishima left the penthouse, leaving a serious looking Shibata guarding outside the door and a very angry Akihito inside the penthouse. The young blond man decided to spend his first day off taking some shoots of the city so an hour later Akihito was ready to leave the penthouse with his camera bag on his shoulder. As soon as he walked through the corridor Shibata was already following him closely, once both of them inside the elevator Akihito glared at his guard once again.

 

“Don’t think I will make this easy for you.”

 

***

 

Akihito stuck to his warning since the first day, as soon as they were out the building Akihito sprinted towards the closest alley and in less than twenty minutes Shibata was out of sight for most of the day. The same pattern repeated every day, the only difference was the amount of time necessary to lose Shibata, it was getting longer and longer each day; also the amount of time Shibata took to find him again was changing, it was getting shorter. But even with the improvements made by the guard the young photographer still managed to run away.

 

The clock signaled 16:00 hrs of the ninth day of duties for Shibata as Akihito’s bodyguard and the man was already sweating and hyperventilating on Asami’s office, Kirishima handed him a bottle of water. He had chased Akihito through half Tokyo, both on the streets and on rooftops, finally losing the blond after nearly 3 hours of continuous persecution.

 

“I’m… sorry Asami-sama, I’m afraid I…. need help with…. this assignment, Takaba-sama is just… too much.”

 

The guard tried to catch his breath between words, he could not understand how someone was able to run that much every day without collapsing. His amusement was enlarged after seeing the recording of a smiling Akihito calmly entering the penthouse a couple of minutes ago while he stood on his boss’s office trying to seem the least pathetic his breathless body allowed him.

 

“I could assign more guards to cover him, Asami-sama.”

 

“That will not be necessary, Suoh. Shibata take the rest of the day and tomorrow off, you will return to your previous duties.”

 

“Asami-sama, I don’t think leaving Takaba-kun without protection is a good call.”

 

“He will have protection, we just need someone he cannot lose. Suoh, call Natsume.”

 

“Natsume? Asami-sama, isn’t that a little…”

 

“Natsume will be fine.”

 

Not another word was said, Shibata bowed and left the office directly home, Asami and Kirishima went over some reports while Suoh made his way to his own office, he had a call to make.

 

***

 

The next morning started as usual, Akihito met Asami in the kitchen, the crime lord waited with the newspaper while the photographer finished preparing breakfast, everything was completely normal, except for one small thing: Akihito hadn’t missed the smirk on Asami’s face, and it was not his usual trademark smirk, this one was almost mischievous.

 

The photographer decided to ignore that detail, surely it was nothing to worry about _‘Probably just some dirty thoughts, perverted bastard.’_  But the smirk didn’t disappear. After Asami was gone to Sion Akihito was left by his own, he felt like having some fresh air and teasing Shibata again so he grabbed his camera bag and opened the penthouse door. The sight that greeted him was not what he expected.

 

There was no Shibata waiting, instead there was a slim figure all dressed in a black suit, even with black gloves. A beautiful green eye and a beautiful brown one looked softly into his own blue ones. There standing in front of him was a medium size delicate-looking young woman.

 

TBC.


	7. Cyanide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito confronts Asami about his new bodyguard and the crime lord receives a new warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> It’s been another chaotic week, I’m so sorry for the delay in this chapter… again, I’ll try my best to update in an even pace now on, I just have to defeat the chaos someway.
> 
> A warning for this chapter: please MIND THE TAGS, the first part of the chapter is safe but from the second part forward it contains a little bit of torture (not as bad as chapter 4 but I warn you anyways) and suicide, so if you are sensitive to this topics please skip this chapter, you have been warned.
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos on this work, every one of them gives me a really big smile, thank you so much for all your support.
> 
> Once again let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 7. CYANIDE**

The morning was going just how he had expected it, delicious breakfast, boring meeting with another politician, reports on his desk and a raging Akihito storming all over his office.

 

“This is a low punch and you know it.”

 

The crime lord raised an eyebrow and lighted a Dunhill. His photographer had come to his office as soon as he found his new bodyguard, just as the crime lord had expected, so Asami listened patiently to Akihito while said bodyguard waited outside the office.

 

“Don’t give me that look. The only reason you assigned her to me is because you know I won’t lose her, not because I can’t but because I won’t even try to!”

 

“What makes you think like that? Natsume is a very capable woman.”

 

“I know that, if not she wouldn’t be working for you but with just a single look you can tell she is not a guard, I mean, look at her! Her gaze is so soft it screams ‘Sweet person’, she looks thin and fragile, even with that suit on I can tell there is no muscle on her bones, I bet you had her doing office work all the time and I don’t want to be responsible of giving her a heart attack the first hour.”

 

“You didn’t seem worried about giving Shibata a heart attack while he chased you all over Tokyo.”

 

“That’s different; he doesn’t look like he is going to break anytime! You are playing dirty here, how old is she anyway?”

 

“22”

 

“You seriously assigned a 22 years old girl to be my bodyguard?”

 

“Yes I did, like I said, she is a very capable woman. Now, seeing you don’t want to give her a hard time I suggest you take your “vacations” as such, Hayashi-sensei ordered you not to do any physical activity and I’m pretty sure running and jumping from rooftops all over Tokyo is an infringement of her advice. If you keep doing it your ribs will take longer to heal.”

 

“I know that, but I don’t need a babysitter.”

 

“She is not, if you don’t want to see her as your bodyguard then consider her a companion, I’m sure she will not mind it at all.”

 

Akihito frowned, he knew it didn’t matter how much he complained he could not win against Asami. He would have her as a bodyguard even if he didn’t want to. Boring days waited for him.

 

“Fine.”

 

The photographer turned and exited the office, just as he expected the young woman quietly followed him closely though he hall. Once inside the elevator Akihito turned to face his new “companion”.

 

“If you are going to follow me around all day you will have to get casual clothes on, a girl in black suit is not precisely discreet.”

 

The young woman bowed lightly, containing a satisfied smile.

 

“As you wish, Takaba-sama.”

 

“And drop the ‘sama’.”

 

***

 

Staring out the window Asami enjoyed his cigarette, the discussion with Akihito went much smoother than he had originally thought. Now with his kitten behaving and Natsume keeping an eye on him he could keep himself busy trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last week. The leader of the Midoriya group agreed a meeting with him that turned to be an ambush, later said leader was nowhere to be found, the ambush had a connection to Maeda but the man was arrested and then found dead by unknown causes, Akihito was attacked most likely as a way to piss him off and on top of that was the mysterious hat man whose role in all that was not clear; everything was a complete chaos. His trail of thinking got cut by his secretary.

 

“Asami-sama, we found Takaba-kun’s pursuers, all three of them are in warehouse 2.”

 

 Asami put his cigarette in the ashtray, an evil chuckle on his face.

 

“Let’s see what they have to say.”

 

Both men left the office; Suoh joined them in the elevator and leaded the way to the parking lot and the limo. Kirishima got the limousine door open for his boss while Suoh entered the driver’s seat, once the three men were inside and on their way to the warehouse the secretary revealed the latest information he got.

 

“Sir, intelligence reports all three of them are part of Maeda’s men.” 

 

“According to Akihito they don’t seem to have a relation with Maeda, that means that either Akihito is wrong or someone wants to make us believe that.”

 

The rest of the trip was done in silence, after twenty minutes the three men arrived at their destination.

 

Warehouse 2 was one of the smallest the crime lord used but it was perfect to interrogate small groups in complete privacy, soundproof and located near Tokyo bay it was also perfect to dispose of the bodies immediately and without much complication.

 

Some guards waited for them in the room where the three captive men were held, as soon as they entered it, the guards informed the prisoners were not harmed by them and all the injuries they had were already there when they were found, after a deep bow all the guards left the room to leave Asami, Kirishima and Suoh by themselves with the unlucky captured ones. The sight that greeted Asami was better than he expected, the three men were tied, each to a chair in the middle of the room, the man with red hair had a leg in a cast, the bald one a broken nose, bandages on his ribs and a broken arm while the guy with an ugly mustache had a still blackish eye and a broken arm and leg. Asami couldn’t help his smile; _‘Well done, kitten’_ he couldn’t feel more proud of the photographer.

 

“So you are Red, Bald and Mustache.”

 

Asami stood in front of them, signaling each of them as he said the nicknames proportioned by Akihito. The prisoners looked up at him, their faces changing from confusion to terror in a matter of seconds.

 

“I assume you know who I am, that makes things easier. You dared to lay your hands on something that is mine and I want to know why and who sent you.”

 

The three men looked at each other and for Asami’s surprise the terrified look on their faces changed once again, this time their eyes shined with determination.

 

“Do whatever you want to us, we will never betray our family.”

 

“What an interesting selection of words, “family”. So you are yakuza.”

 

The three men didn’t say anything, just kept staring right into Asami’s eyes making and statement with their eyes: they would not say anything.

 

“As you wish.”

 

And with a single nod Suoh and Kirishima approached the tied men while Asami went back, Kirishima stood in front of Mustache while Suoh picked Bald, after another nod from Asami both men began to beat their targets with all their strength, loud screams left their mouths when some punches landed on their injured members but most of the time they took the beating without much fuzz with a wide eyed Red as a witness.

 

Several minutes later both men were reduced to a pulp but the secretary and the chief of security gave no signs of stopping, until suddenly Suoh froze in the middle of a punch, eyed wide in recognition.

 

 “What is it, Suoh?”

 

“In his chest, Asami-sama.”

 

Immediately Kirishima stopped his box practice and looked at whatever Suoh had seen, Asami left his spot on the back of the room and got closer to have a look himself. Bald’s bandages had gotten loose with the beating and left uncover a slight portion of his chest where Suoh’s interest was focused, there, just peeking slightly above the bandage was a tattoo.

 

Without delay Kirishima grabbed Bald and pulled his bandages all the way down revealing his badly bruised body but most important the tattoo on his chest, exactly over the heart was the design of a circle with bamboo leaves inside.

 

“Is the emblem of the Midoriya group, Asami-sama.”

 

“Indeed it is. Look in the others.”

 

The secretary and the security chief obeyed and soon enough Red and Mustache were shirtless too, both had the same design on their chest over their hearts.

 

“There are no other markings on you, which mean you three are part of the low branches of the Midoriya group, a bunch of rookies. Now I am really curious why your organization is moving against me.”

 

Panic. That was what Asami saw in the three men’s faces. They held no chance against the man in front of them, he knew who their family was and by the sadistic glance Asami was giving them they knew he would use any resource to get the answers he wanted, their fate was sealed.  Using their last drop of willpower left in their bodies the three men looked at each other again and after a few seconds gave a light nod to each other, an action that did not escaped the crime lord’s watch. Slowly the three men returned their gaze to Asami, resolution once again filling their eyes. Red broke the silence with low but firm voice.

 

“A new era is coming, and you will not be part of it.”

 

As soon as he ended the sentence Asami heard three cracking noises that came from the men’s mouths and then all three of them swallowed something, moments later it happened. Asami and his men noticed how the breathing of their prisoners became unsteady and forced while at the same time their pupils dilated and seconds later all three men started a series of convulsions, moments later the lifeless bodies of the three men laid motionless still tied to their chairs, a faint smile on their lips.

 

The whole process hadn't last more than five minutes, as soon it was over Kirishima approached the bodies for a general examination.

 

“According to their reactions I would say they committed suicide with cyanide.”

 

“So they had some kind of pill hidden in their mouths all the time. That’s not part of the Midoriya’s ethic code.”

 

***

 

Asami lighted another cigarette while Kirishima handed him a glass with whisky, they were back at Sion trying to make sense of the information they managed to get, there were still thing they had to confirm but they needed to find the leader of the Midoriya group first, both men were discussing their options when Suoh entered the office.

 

“Asami-sama, I have information regarding Maeda.”

 

The guard handed Asami a file, it was Maeda’s autopsy report.

 

“The official cause of death was a heart attack, but I managed to get the original report from the forensic examiner, Maeda died of acute poisoning.”

 

“With what?”

 

“Cyanide.”

 

TBC.


	8. Game pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito is trying to get used to his new bodyguard while Asami and our mysterious man realizes things that might change the direction of their actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> I'm so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter… again, I think chaos was finally defeated for the time being, my life is still a little funny but nothing that I can’t handle so hopefully updates will be a constant occurrence for some time. Wish me luck.
> 
> Anyway, here is chapter eight, a pretty slow one but, in my humble opinion, a necessary one because it marks the start line of this crazy journey, please bear with me.
> 
> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos on this work, seriously, you have no idea of how happy they make me, I never expected to have such a nice and supportive response, I love you all so much. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 8. GAME PIECES**

 Akihito kept walking through the halls, the cart was almost full with groceries but there were still things he wanted to buy, if was going to stay low in the penthouse at least he would have good food and lots of pocky with him. It was the second day with his “companion” and the photographer began to get used to her presence, it was not a hard thing to do, the young woman was a quiet and rather shy person, also it was obvious to Akihito that she was doing her best trying to give him space and privacy becoming a silent shadow, Akihito was surprised when he found himself forgetting she was there from time to time.

 

“So… what was your job before this bodyguard/companion thing?”

 

Natsume took some seconds to answer him, Akihito had asked her some questions before, most likely as an intent to remember himself that she was there.

 

“I do a lot of different things but most of the time I am part of the intelligence team.”

 

Akihito hummed in response, _‘So I was right, desk job.’_

 

“Is it hard?”

 

“Kirishima-san is pretty strict but the job it’s not that bad, there are a lot of late work hours and non-sleep nights but I find it pretty… entertaining.”

 

The photographer returned his attention to the grocery list, she must be really good at her job if Asami considered her a “very capable woman”, Akihito had to admit he was surprised the day before, when Natsume changed into casual clothes he saw the woman had more muscles than he thought, it was obvious she worked out.  But even realizing that, Akihito couldn’t help but believe her weak, there was no way a fragile looking girl could protect him more than himself alone could, _‘She is in more danger than me, if someone tries something against me she will be the first to go down and I don’t think I can protect her and myself at the same time”_ , that was the reason he decided to stay put on the penthouse, not for his own safety but for hers.

 

Akihito took another glance of the girl, the first thing that he had noticed the first time they met were her eyes. Heterochromia she told him, her left eye being a light brown shade while the right one a beautiful bright deep green, the photographer found the combination truly beautiful. After the initial shock of introducing themselves Akihito looked discreetly at her when he had the chance, her white skin created a big contrast with her deep black hair, shoulder length. _‘She is really beautiful, how did someone like her ended up working for a crime lord perverted bastard?’_ He shoved his thoughts aside and decided to concentrate in the rest of the grocery shopping, if he was lucky he would not have to keep up with the bodyguard thing for long.

 

Finally the shopping was over and both of them left the store with the grocery bags in their hands, Akihito kept with the small talk, something about sushi, and missed to notice a shadowy figure hidden at the distance, a man was following them and watching every move they made, slowly getting closer and closer. Akihito kept walking unaware of the danger and Natsume followed behind him, the unknown man never out of her sight.

 

***

 

Smoke, that was the smell floating on his office but it was not any kind of smoke, it was Dunhill, the fifth of the day. Asami lighted the sixth one while staring through the enormous window, Kirishima and Suoh standing in front of his desk, reporting their findings.

 

“So Maeda and those Midoriya rookies died the same way, which are the odds?”

 

“Very low Asami-sama, Maeda’s autopsy report says there are signs he was forced to swallow something.”

 

“Most likely a cyanide pill.”

 

“Looks like the Midoriya group changed their methods.”

 

Asami´s mind was racing with possibilities, with business and Akihito in danger he needed to find the truth. As far as he knew Midoriya Kojiro, the leader of the Midoriya group, had agreed a deal with Asami just to never show up at the meeting. Then said meeting was replaced by a well-planned ambush made by Maeda’s cleaning team. That left Asami with three options, the first one was Midoriya betrayed him and used Maeda´s men to get the dirty job done; the second one, Maeda used Midoriya to set up the ambush; and the third one, Midoriya knew about the ambush and decided to avoid it without warning Asami. Neither of them were good. But there was also the hat man Akihito saw, he wasn’t working for Maeda and the fact that Maeda was murdered later was proof enough of his little value in the whole situation. So the hat man was either part of the Midoriya group manipulating Maeda, or from a third front he wasn’t aware yet.

 

Next were the Midoriya rookies, the emblems on their chests identified them undeniably as part of the Midoriya group while the intel on them said they were part from Maeda’s men, that meant someone didn’t wanted Asami to relate them with their real group. Again two options could be possible, either Midoriya was truly behind everything  and instructed their men to suicide if they were captured and they negated their true connection, or someone manipulated the whole Midoriya group and used it at will, most likely the hat man, and his attempts of denying the Midoriya connection were efforts to hide his own identity. But control de Midoriya group was a very difficult task, they were a powerful organization, Midoriya Kojiro on his own represented a great obstacle; Asami decided the hat man moving the strings in the shadows was not a big possibility. 

 

Asami sighed, releasing some cigarette smoke into the air, one of his biggest allies had betrayed him, Midoriya Kojiro planned the ambush and used Maeda to do the dirty job and the hat man was most likely one of Midoriya’s men in charge of controlling Maeda, Midoriya Kojiro wanted Asami’s underworld place.

 

“Find Midoriya Kojiro, I want him as soon as possible, if you get with some of his men on the way kill them, no hostages.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

“Also get in touch with Natsume, as Kojiro’s attempt against Akihito failed he might try another one especially if he realizes his true connection with me, tell her to be on full alert.”

 

“At once, Asami-sama.”

 

The crime lord put the rest of his Dunhill in the ash tray, if Midoriya wanted a war that was what he was going to get.

 

“We need more pieces on the board, some specific skills might come handy depending of the situation, call Neko.”

 

“I’ll tell Neko to be in stand by and ready to move anytime.”

 

“Fine.”

 

***

 

Smoke, that was the smell floating on his office but it was not any kind of smoke, it was Dunhill, the first of the day. As usual his office was dark and quiet, the only thing in the room being his huge desk and chair. His secretary entered after a light knock at the door.

 

“Sir, the low ranks we send for the boy toy went missing, my guess is they are dead.”

 

The man released a smoke cloud slowly, those news weren’t something important, that was exactly what he expected.

 

“So? I told you, there were disposable pieces, the game continues.”

 

“Yes sir. Also surveillance says the photographer was seen with a bodyguard for a week, he kept ditching him though. Currently he is in the company of a small young woman; I believe she is meant to keep an eye on him, the assigned man keeps following them.”

 

“The photographer has security, which means he is not just a pet. Get him, he could be an important piece of the game and we could use him on our favor.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The secretary bowed and left the office leaving the smoking man contemplating his cigarette, quietly planning his next move. A couple of minutes later he woman came back in, this time with a confused expression on her face.

 

“Sir…”

 

“What is it this time?”

 

“The man we had following the photographer disappeared.”

 

The man exhaled another smoke cloud, the game was getting interesting.

 

TBC.


	9. Kojiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito starts to get used to Natsume following here around while she makes sure to do her job without Akihito noticing at all. Asami moves his resources to find Midoriya Kojiro but finds something that doesn’t match his guesses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Finally this chapter is done, took me longer to write than I expected (I have no idea why) but it’s not awfully late either. 
> 
> Things start to unfold here and our characters assume their positions to prepare for what is coming, hope you like it.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point any of them out and I will correct them as soon as I can.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 9. KOJIRO**

Akihito grabbed his camera bag along with his portfolio and exited the penthouse, as soon as he opened the door he was greeted by the sight of a young woman siting crossed leg on the ground, she lifted her gaze from the book she was engrossed in and smiled at him, immediately she stood on her feet and made a polite bow.

 

“Good morning, Takaba-sama.”

 

The photographer was not surprised to find her that way, since the second day together Natsume had brought a book to read while he was on the penthouse, the first time he saw that, the young man found it strange, Shibata always stood in front of the door for hours so Akihito decided to tease her about it, _“My job is to protect you, when you are inside the penthouse you are as safe as you can be so then I only have to watch the entrance, I don’t have to be standing nonstop to get that done.”_ The photographer could only laugh. Now it was a common occurrence, a week had passed and Natsume was starting a third book.

 

“Morning.”

 

 He was enjoying the fresh air, the day was perfect with the sun high in the sky and a cool breeze brushing his skin. After spending most of the last week in the penthouse Akihito was enjoying the outside world. Obviously Natsume followed him every time he put foot outside but was surprised he didn´t mind any more, the photographer found she was quite a good company.

 

“I told you to drop the ‘sama’ already, it makes me feel like an old man.”

 

“I can’t do that Takaba-sama, that would be disrespectful.”

 

Akihito rolled his eyes, he had been trying to make her address him more casually with no success so far.

 

“I feel weird having someone younger than me calling me ‘Takaba-sama’ all day, at least try it, my first name, no honorific needed.”

 

Natsume was conflicted, she was used to call him formally but she had to admit it didn’t suit the young man, especially because the casual way he treated her, almost like a friend. Finally the young woman decided to comply.

 

“Fine, Akihito…..san”

 

Akihito didn’t miss the light blush on her cheeks, he had found early in the first day with her she was a very shy person. The photographer smiled brightly at her, she still used an honorific but he could work with that.

 

“See, not that bad, right Natsume?”

 

They kept walking in silence; Akihito was lost in his thoughts until his companion broke the silence minutes later, it was almost a whisper but Akihito heard it and again her cheeks were tinted a light shade of pink .

 

“Sayuri”

 

“What?”

 

“My name, Sayuri. If I will address you in such an informal manner you have to do the same, it is weird and unprofessional to call my boss by his given name while he calls me formally. Call me Sayuri, no honorific needed.”

 

The photographer was surprised, boss? Wasn´t that Asami?

 

“What do you mean I’m your boss?”

 

“That you are my boss, Akihito-san. Your authority is just below Asami-sama himself.”

 

The young blond man opened his eyes wide, that was not anything expected. Suddenly his eyes flashed with a mischievous fire, a light chuckle forming on his lips.

 

“Even higher than Kirishima’s?”

 

Sayuri took some time to reply, she had to pick her answer carefully to not get the photographer funny ideas that would give her, Kirishima and Asami trouble.

 

“Depends on the situation, if your orders contradicts Asami-sama’s or goes against his judgment then I cannot follow them and I have to make sure you don’t do something reckless, but if your orders don’t do that, then absolutely, even Kirishima-san goes second.”

 

Akihito was smiling brightly again, he had no idea what he could do with that kind of power but it felt good to have it.

 

“Back to the topic, call me Sayuri.”

 

“I’m not sure… I call all of Asami’s goons by their last names…”

 

Sayuri planted herself in front of him and looked straight into his eyes, shyness forgotten her own eyes showed pure determination.

 

“ _Ta-ka-ba-sa-ma_ ”

 

“Ok, fine! I’ll call you Sayuri, stop that!”

 

After a satisfied smile the bodyguard let him pass, they kept walking and finally reached their destination: Sunrise orphanage. Akihito needed to hand the director the photos he took of the kids two weeks prior; he was already late because of all the Maeda case but he kept remembering all the kid’s smiling faces so the photographer decided he couldn’t postpone the matter anymore. Both of them entered the lobby and Akihito approached to the secretary while Sayuri took a seat in a small couch near the door.

 

“Hi, I’m looking for director Hamaoka, I need to hand him the photos of the shoot we did two weeks ago.”

 

“Oh! Takaba-san! What a pleasure to see you again. I’m afraid Hamaoka-sensei is not here, he had to attend an urgent matter but you can hand the photos to me.”

 

The photographer continued to talk with the secretary a few more minutes, by the time they were done he had another smile on his face, they had agreed another photo shoot for a group of new kids. They said their goodbyes and Akihito turned to reach the entrance only to find no Sayuri waiting for him.

 

_‘Where did she go this time?’_

Akihito sighed, that was the sixth time his “companion” disappeared for no reason, the first one had been just after their grocery shopping their second day together, he had turned around only to find her gone. Every time she came back a couple of minutes later as nothing happened and always with a different excuse: old man crossing street, toilet, trapped kitten, kid falling, even a choking man. The photographer found himself waiting for the next one.

 

As expected a couple of minutes later the girl came back, as fresh as he saw her last time.

 

“What was it this time, an old woman carrying heavy bags?”

 

“No, just a puppy with a broken leg.”

 

“You know, I don´t mind if you wander around but if Asami or Kirishima finds out you could be in trouble.”

 

Sayuri gave him a warm smile.

 

“I´m sorry, I’ll be more careful now on. Please don’t worry about me, Akihito-san.”

 

***

 

Again his count of smoked Dunhills had reached two digits. Asami put his last one left on the ash tray Kirishima handed him when Suoh entered his office.

 

“I have a new report from Natsume-kun, she prevented another attack against Takaba.”

 

Asami was not surprised; she was real good at her job. After the first man following them crossing the street from the supermarket she had stopped another four the following days: the very next one a man using a public bathroom as a hiding place, two days later on the morning she cornered another one on an alley and in the afternoon another one fell from a balcony trying to escape from her, and the next day she engaged in a fight with another one; the only problem was all of them committed suicide when found themselves trapped, all had used cyanide pills except for the last one, he had dropped the pill during the struggle but managed to cut his own throat with a piece of glass, the man died choked on his own blood.  

 

“We predicted the attempts against Akihito would increase; if he is with her there is no need to worry. Let me guess, the man took a pill when he realized there was no way out?”

 

“No Sir, Natsume-kun managed to take the pill from him, he has a broken leg but aside that he is mainly unharmed, he is in custody in warehouse 2 waiting to be interrogated.”

 

Now the crime lord was surprised.

 

The drive to warehouse 2 was quick and silent, as soon as Asami entered the room the captive man was kept what he saw reminded him Suoh’s idea of “mainly unharmed” was different from most people. The chained man was something less than a human and more than a pulp, bruises covered every inch of visible skin.

 

“Now, you will tell me everything you know.”

 

***

 

The sound of high heels echoed through the hall, the woman knocked at a door and entered, again her boss was smoking by the window.

 

“Sir, all the men we sent to get the photographer disappeared.”

 

“How many?”

 

“Six, the last one went missing just a couple of hours ago.”

 

The man took another deep smoke, getting the photographer was proving to be harder than he had expected, not that he needed him for his plans but it had become a matter of pride.

 

“You are useless. I will handle it myself, he will be here TONIGHT.”

 

The secretary bowed deeply and left the office, the smoking man was already making some calls.

 

***

 

Asami was looking firmly at Suoh, they were back at his office after the interrogation, well, attempted interrogation. It had been not anything as expected, the man was a tough one, he endured the beating and the torture with a strong will and a mouth perfectly shut; but what caught the crime lord completely off guard was how the man managed to get hold of a piece of wire and had hung himself, not a single word left his mouth. When they examined his body they were not surprised to see again the emblem of the Midoriya group, every man from the past week attempts had it.

 

“We can´t underestimate the Midoriya group, they are a very powerful organization. This has to stop if we want Akihito to stay safe, find Midoriya Kojiro, NOW.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

“Neko?”

 

“In stand by and ready to change duties any time.”

 

The crime lord nodded, better to be prepared. Just as he reached for another Dunhill the door flew open, revealing a panting Kirishima.

 

“Sir, Midoriya Kojiro has been found.”

 

Golden eyes lighted with a satisfied and revenge hungry fire. Finally there would be answers and some payback, finally his kitten would be able to run free again, finally he would be able to make sense to everything and finally he would be able to spend some time with his kitten. The secretary recognized his bosses gaze, he took another step forward and informed his boss he was not going to be that lucky just yet.

 

“Sir, he was found in Tokyo Bay, he is dead.”

 

TBC.


	10. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the main suspect of the attacks now dead Asami realizes all is more complex and dangerous than he originally thought. The master mind makes a new strike to get hold of Akihito and the crime lord needs to hurry if he wants to keep his kitten safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Finally another chapter is here, I’m so sorry about the delay, chaos came back to my life but luckily this time was a very happy chaos but also I was so full of emotions that I didn´t have my head in the right setting to sit down and write. I’m so sorry.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, all the comments and kudos, I’m really happy about them, love you all.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point any of them out and I will correct them as soon as I can.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 10. AMBUSH**

An uncomfortable silence filled the crime lord´s office; his Dunhill completely forgotten between his fingers Asami stared at his secretary’s eyes waiting for him to explain the notice further.

 

“I had a team to dispose the body of the man we interrogated earlier, before they dumped the body in Tokyo Bay one of them noticed signs of another body being dropped in the same area recently, they confirmed with me that we hadn´t dispose of anyone there for the past few weeks so one of them dived to find out, he found Midoriya Kojiro.”

 

Asami raised an eyebrow, the leader of the Midoriya group was dead, his only suspect was dead. That could be good news or very bad ones.

 

“Sir, that’s not all. I personally examined the body, there were signs of prolonged torture and judging by the state of the body… my guess he has been dead for at least a week.”

 

So very bad news they were. Midoriya Kojiro couldn’t be responsible at least for the last week’s strikes but his men were involved, that could only mean one thing, a very dangerous one thing. Asami lighted the Dunhill on his fingers and took a deep smoke.

 

“There is a third party involved.”

 

“I’m afraid so, Asami-sama.”

 

“And they must be pretty powerful and dangerous to be able to kill Kojiro and then manipulate his men so easily. Even more seeing how Kojiro’s men seem so loyal to them, they even got to sacrifice their own lives for them.”

 

The three men looked at each other, the situation had tuned more deadly in a matter of seconds, a new party with that much power they didn’t knew about. That was not good at all.

 

Asami continued smoking his cigarette while pacing on his office, his two more trusted and loyal men following him with their eyes. Someone unknown had targeted him two weeks prior and now Akihito several times the past week, which was a clear sign they knew of the photographer and the crime lord’s connection, if the new group was responsible of everything and even had killed Kojiro then Akihito was in a greater danger than he had supposed. Asami knew there were two things he needed to do: discover who the master mind was and keep Akihito safe.

 

“Kirishima, contact Neko and prepare your team, mission starts as soon as you are ready.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

“Suoh, bring Akihito here, you are not to leave his side until he is with me. Take all precautions, I want him here without a scratch, anyone on your way you kill them.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

Both men bowed deeply and left the office immediately, they recognized their bosses gaze and knew if they failed they would pay with their lives. The secretary and the bodyguard looked at each other briefly, a small no word exchange, a light nod and each of them left to gather their respective teams.

 

***

 

A mop of blond hair was navigating the busy streets of Tokyo followed by a brown/green eyed young woman. It was visible the young photographer was not happy, they were going back to the penthouse after his editor told him there were no more jobs for him for a while. Akihito was not pleased by such an statement, he was dying of boredom and craving for some adrenaline pumping in his veins, he sighed, if his editor decided he was not getting a scoop for some time there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Akihito decided to put his frustration behind and occupied his thoughts on dinner.

 

They walked a couple of blocks when Akihito crashed with a man, after nearly fall the blond apologized to the man and turned to his “companion.”

 

“It’s too crowded here, let’s move through the allies, will be faster and easier.”

 

The young bodyguard nodded lightly and both of them moved to the nearest alley, Sayuri had to admit she preferred that way of navigate the city, she hated crowd places. Some minutes later the young woman regretted that decision, they were being followed and not only by one person but several, it was an ambush. A few meters later Akihito turned right and she turned left behind him, facing two men hiding in the shadows.

 

“Are you lost, gentlemen?”

 

***

 

Akihito continued walking his way back to the penthouse still engrossed on his dinner plans. He wasn’t even paying attention to his surroundings; he knew the path to well.

 

“You should have dinner with me, Asami surely is going to be late and I hate to leave you in the hall all night, do you like Nikujaga*?”

 

Silence was the only answer he got. He stopped on his tracks and turned around only to see no Sayuri, just an empty dark alley, Akihito searched every corner his sigh could reveal from his spot, his heart raced for the first time in days, there was no sign of her. Suddenly he felt a presence behind him and when he turned around again there she was.

 

“Where the hell you went this time? You scared the hell out of me!”

 

“I’m sorry I startled you. I went nowhere, I was right here the whole time. Nikujaga sounds good, Akihito-san.”

 

Sayuri smiled warmly and gestured with her hand to keep going. The photographer and the bodyguard continued their way, leaving behind two unconscious men inside a dumpster.

 

Walking through the alleys the young woman kept all her senses open, so far she had counted 7 people following them at different distances, some on ground level and even some in the rooftops, the photographer seemed not to notice but there was something else that hadn’t escaped his sight.

 

“What’s wrong? And don’t try to tell me everything is fine because you have a deadly look in your eyes.”

 

Sayuri sighed; she could no longer pretend nothing happened and it was better to have Akihito’s cooperation to make things easier.

 

“We are being followed. I have count seven, there might be more. Phones are not working; we can’t ask for backup.”

 

Akihito hold his breath, he had only noticed two and the inability to contact Asami made him nervous.

 

“We are in disadvantage here; it’s too small to fight off a big group properly. We have to make our way back to the streets or at least a bigger alley. “

 

Akihito nodded, he traced the route in his mind and started moving but as soon as his foot touched the ground a loud crash sounded behind them, one of the pursuers had kicked a dumpster and started running towards them, without second thoughts Sayuri pushed Akihito forward.

 

“Run, now!”

 

Akihito ran as fast as his legs allowed him and was surprised to see Sayuri right next to him, her eyes piercing every corner with a deadly glare searching for hidden enemies. The blond man couldn’t help shiver. Soon enough Akihito realized the footsteps of his pursuers where incrementing, it was no longer a single ma running after them but he didn’t dare look back. Suddenly some meters in front of them an enormous man emerged from behind some boxes, he was blocking their way and also was holding a hunting knife.

 

Before Akihito could think of anything he saw Sayuri speeding more, heading directly to the giant man.

 

“Don’t stop, Akihito-san, keep running!”

 

The photographer wanted to yell at her, stop her, what was she doing?! There was no way she could defeat that human monster, and that would leave Akihito alone with all the other pursuers. But then again the photographer found himself surprised; the young woman gracefully dodged the giant’s attack and then with some amazing precision flipped the man over, successfully throwing him flat on his back.

 

Akihito did as she told him and kept running; when he reached them he jumped past the giant and was joined again by Sayuri. The steps following them hadn’t stopped either, in fact they were closer but before the blond man could say something about it he felt a strong tug on his neck, Sayuri was holding him by his jacket collar and pulled him to another alley, he face planted on the ground and as he was raising his head he heard them, gun shots.

 

“They have guns!”

 

“Of course they do, Akihito-san, though is a mystery why they haven´t used them until now. We can´t go that way, we need another route.”

 

Akihito got up and both ran again, with another route in mind the photographer scanned all the allies searching not for enemies but for escape routes, he desperately wanted to climb to the rooftops, he knew it would be easier that way to lose them but he was not sure his companion would be able to follow up his pace, fighting was one thing but parkour was something completely different. He decided to stick with the ground route.

 

Unfortunately his plans didn’t unfold as he expected, every time they reached an alley that could guide them to the streets a bullet rain made them change directions, Sayuri growled, they were playing cat and mice, and right there Akihito and herself were the mice moving directly to the cat’s claws. She knew she could easily take all of their pursuers down but that would leave Akihito unprotected and on his own for some time and she wasn’t going to take that risk, she needed to find a way to put Akihito safe and then return to kick some ass without worries.

 

The persecution kept going for some time, for Akihito it seemed like hours but he knew it could be no longer than 20 minutes. They kept running until a new bullet rain made them change directions again, they entered the new alley, ran for some meters and stopped, it was a dead end, they were trapped.

 

Akihito and Sayuri turned to face their pursuers; eight men including the giant she had flipped before were looking at them with grins on their faces, Sayuri made a mental count on them and their weapons: three hunting knifes, four handguns and a rifle, all of them pointing at them, every man on ground level, the rooftops seemed clear. That was going to be Akihito’s escape route, she knew he could jump his way back to Sion or the penthouse from there while she took care of their problematic friends. That was her new plan; she assumed a comfortable position that would allow her to defend or attack and prepared to make an opening for Akihito to climb up.

 

Akihito had another plan. He planted himself in front of Sayuri, facing their attackers. He extended his arm in front of her in a protective manner and spoke to her softly.

 

“I’ll buy you some time, go get help.”

 

He got no time to do anything, as soon as the last word left his mouth he heard it again.

 

Gun shot.

 

Next thing the photographer knew he was lying flat on his back staring at the sky, a beautiful orange tinted the clouds as the sun set.

 

 And there, in the rooftop above him he saw it, watching it all was a man shaped figure, all dressed in black and a hat covering his head.

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Nikujaga = meat and potato stew


	11. Neko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito and Sayuri are trapped in an ambush supervised by Hattie, Asami has to keep Aki safe and get ready for an upcoming mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> I got so carried away writing the last chapter that I finished this one on record time so here it is!! Some more action ahead. 
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, all the comments and kudos, I’m really happy about them, love you all.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point any of them out and I will correct them as soon as I can.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 11. NEKO**

Heavy footsteps echoed through Sion’s halls, Suoh was in the middle of gathering his team to retrieve Akihito before their new enemy decided a new strike against the photographer. The chief of security entered his office and instants later 5 men knocked at his door, his team was there.

 

“Souma, you drive the car. Kanou, you drive Natsume’s bike and reunite with Satou and Matsuda; you three are the cover team. Itou, with me, we get him out.”

 

The five guards bowed low and answered with a firm “Yes, sir.” While they received the details of their duties and the mission a loud _beep_ caught Suoh’s attention, the screen of his office wall turned on, showing a red spot moving over a map of Tokyo. His face stiffed.

 

“The target is under attack, this is top priority, anything happens to him and you deal with me personally.”

 

Another low bow and the retrieval team left the office, all of them with a serious expression and a stiffed face.

 

Less than 5 minutes later the team was reaching their destination, they left their vehicles and continued on foot through the allies, following the direction of the red spot on their phones, recognizing several marks on the ground and walls in their way, bullet holes. Suoh let a growl out of his throat when the dot stopped on a dead end in the map. Luckily they were real close.

 

After a right turn the team was greeted by the sight of 8 armed men surrounding Akihito and Natsume, Suoh saw how Natsume assumed a combat position and then how her eyes changed to a pure thunderstruck look, Akihito had stand in front of her in a protective manner.

 

The next events seemed to occur in slow motion, the thunderstruck look in Sayuri was replaced by alarm when the female bodyguard noticed one of their attackers was about to pull the trigger, without further thinking the woman made her move, Akihito was mid-sentence when she moved the distance that separated them and with pure agility as the photographer ended what he was saying she kicked his legs and pushed his torso backward successfully throwing the blond flat on his back to the ground just in time, the bullet missed him but he hit his head hard leaving him stunned for a while. Not wasting any time the young woman darted herself to the closest attacker and when she had neutralized him jumped to the next one.

 

By the time Suoh and his team got closer she had already taken down one man with a gun, two with knifes and the one with the rifle, there were four more to go.

 

“Natsume-kun, cover!”

 

The team was on position, guns pointing to the four lasting men ready to shot, following orders Sayuri launched herself to the ground, covering Akihito with her own body. Four precise shots were heard and all of the attackers were reduced.

 

Akihito stared at the beautiful orange sky, his mind still fuzzy he wasn’t aware of the events happening around him, just some noises and screams got to his ears while his eyes weren´t able to catch anything. Suddenly he felt a weight over him but for some reason he didn´t find it threatening, it was kind of a familiar presence, he looked to the sky again and saw in the rooftop above him a man in a hat. _‘Hattie!’_ He was there, watching it all, but as fast as he saw him he had disappeared.

 

The weight above him was gone and a concerned voice called him, it was soft and gentle yet firm, like a breeze, finally his fuzzy mind cleared enough and his eyes finally focused on the owner of said voice, Sayuri was crouching over him.

 

“Akihito-san, are you hurt? Can you get up?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

The young woman helped him up to his feet, he tried his best to ignore the bodies on the ground and the photographer was relieved when a bulky figure covered his range of vision.

 

“Suoh-san! What are you doing here?”

 

“Taking you back, now let’s go.”

 

Akihito let himself to be guided through the allies to the car, the team in full alert in case of more enemies; all of them missed the man dressed in black and a hat leaving the shadows of a nearby rooftop making his way to their opposite direction.

 

Once in the back seat of the car Akihito relaxed a bit, just then he realized Sayuri was no longer with them.

 

“Wait, where is Sayuri? Is she alright?”

 

“She is fine, she went ahead on her bike back to Sion. I will be protecting you until this is cleared.”

 

Akihito said no more, his body finally feeling the down of adrenaline and the increasing tiredness. That had been insane, who were they? Why target him? A flow of questions flooded his mind until he realized something.

 

“How did you find us and how did you know we were in danger?”

 

“GPS, and for how we knew Asami-sama will inform you when we arrive.”

 

“GPS? How? Our phones weren´t working.”

 

“Natsume-kun attached another GPS to you, its signal is different from the ones of the phones so it worked fine, it might be somewhere in your clothes.”

 

Akihito started tapping all over his clothes, arms, legs, torso, even his pants, there was nothing. Finally he reached to his jacket collar and felt something, a small black device was attached to the fabric, it was in the same place she had grabbed him to pull him out of the way of the first bullet rain, she had put it there that time.

 

Soon enough they arrived at Sion, Suoh conducted him with a quick pace to what seemed like a conference room but as soon as they entered Akihito realized it was not a conference room, the place was fully equipped with electronic devices, a team of 10 men and women sat in front of computers and all of them had headsets, Kirishima barking orders to all of them and trough his own headset.

 

The photographer swiped the room with his eyes until he found what he was looking for, a golden eyed man fully dressed in his trademark three piece suit was sitting in front of a number of big screens. Akihito immediately moved by his side and when Asami noticed him there the crime lord grabbed him and turned him over and over, inspecting every inch of his body.

 

Some scratches on his arms, a small bruise on his right cheek and a bump in the back of his head. Nothing lethal. Ending his inspection Asami turned his attention again back to the screens.

 

“Are you going to tell what is going on?”

 

The crime lord sighed; even if he didn’t want to he knew Akihito was now involved and deeply so he deserved to know.

 

“An unknown group is targeting me and found my connection with you, they are the ones responsible of Maeda’s dead and also they have the power to use and kill the leader of a large yakuza family.”

 

“So I’m in danger because of your business again. And you decided to change my guard to a more capable one and sent Sayuri back to desktop job now that things got more complicated.”

 

Asami chuckled, that was going to be an interesting talk with his kitten but before he could say anything Kirishima interrupted them.

 

“Sir, we are ready. We will start as soon as team Neko reports.”

 

Akihito was confused, an unknown group? A yakuza family? Why were they in a control room? Ready for what?

 

“What are you doing here?

 

“A mission to find out who is the one responsible of this mess, a team will infiltrate Midoriya group’s headquarters to gather information, there might be something.”

 

“If it’s that important what are your personal goons doing here? Shouldn’t they be there?”

 

“Suoh is here to keep you safe and Kirishima coordinates the intel team from here, the infiltration part is Neko’s job.”

 

“Neko?”

 

Asami’s attention was back to the screens, a blueprint of Midoriya’s headquarters had appeared on them, seeing his boss was not going to answer more of the boy’s questions Suoh took the words.

 

“A professional assassin under Asami-sama’s orders. Even though todays mission is not an assassination Neko’s skills are useful for many purposes. “

 

The photographer was dumbfounded, he knew Asami “took care” of a number of persons per day but he never imagined he had a professional assassin working for him, that was a different level of “taking care” of stuff.

 

Before he could ask more things four dots appeared on the screen, one by one the dots appeared over different parts of the blueprint as voices could be heard in all the room through a radio.

 

“Tora, ready.”

 

“Kuma, ready.”

 

“Hebi, ready.”

 

“Same, ready.”

 

 Four men, four red dots in the screen. That was the infiltration team. Finally a fifth dot appeared followed by another voice.

 

“Neko, ready.”

 

Akihito’s eyes went wide in surprise, he knew that voice and was one he hadn’t expect at all to hear for a while. The photographer couldn’t believe what he heard even when that voice spoke again. It was soft and gentle, yet firm. Like a breeze. It was Sayuri.

 

“Initiating Operation Midoriya.”

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neko = cat  
> Tora = tiger  
> Kuma = bear  
> Hebi = snake  
> Same = shark


	12. Operation Midoriya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayuri and her infiltration team gets in Midoriya’s headquarters seeking for information that might be useful in an attempt to figure out who is behind the past week’s events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Took me some time but the chapter is finally here, I struggled to get this done, I just wasn’t entirely satisfied with the result so I rewrited it a couple of times. Still I am not completely happy with it but I think is not terrible either so…. Yeah.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, all the comments and kudos, I’m really happy about them, love you all.
> 
> As usual let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point any of them out or ask if something is not clear, I will try to correct them immediately and will explain everything right away.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 12. OPERATION MIDORIYA**

Every sound inside that room seemed muffled in his ears, Intel team’s voices, Kirishima’s orders, the beeping sound that came from the monitors, everything. There was only one sound Akihito had his undivided attention at, that soft and firm voice. There was no doubt, he was certain about it, the voice had identified itself as “Neko” and it was Sayuri’s voice. His mind raced full speed, the photographer was having a hard time processing the entire situation, he couldn’t visualize the kind hearted young woman as an assassin, there was no was the girl with the warm smile and shy personality was a trained cold blooded killer.

 

His brain kept working top speed until that voice came to take him out of his trance.

 

_“Same, Hebi, Kuma, keep positions. Distractions ready, wait for orders. Tora, with me.”_

Immediately two red dots on the main screen moved through the blueprint while the remaining three stayed on their spots. Akihito was impressed of the precision; they could see exactly where on the safehouse was each one of them. How they had managed it was a complete mystery, most likely Kirishima’s doing, that man deserved a promotion.

 

“Will she be alright? I mean, it’s the Midoriya group and she is entering with only one man, its suicide!”

 

Asami had his full attention on the screens and the radio, he hadn´t even listened to the photographer so again Suoh decided to answer.

 

“She is a professional so she knows how to take care of herself. The others can’t enter because they don’t have that kind of training, they would only get things bad, actually “Tora” is only there as emergency support and because he is the only one who can keep up with her the longest.”

 

Again the photographer found himself dumbfounded, was he really that far from reality about her? Yet again, his trail of thoughts was interrupted, the two dots moving inside the blueprint had arrived at a large lounge near a staircase, Sayuri spoke again.

 

_“We are almost in the stairs, too much people in the way. Same, distraction 1.”_

_“Immediately, miss.”_

One of the dots outside moved to the next corner and soon enough Akihito heard new sound through the radio, this time there were no voices, no orders, no beeping, this time there were gun shots. He could hear the sporadic curses from the man identified as “same”, his labored breathing and some shouts in the background, as that little chaos was taking place, the photographer heard the young woman’s voice again.

 

_“We are in, moving to underground level 1now.”_

 The two red dots kept moving and suddenly disappeared from the screen, it took some time to Akihito realize that the dots were now on another blueprint projected in the next screen, that was when he realized the multiple screens had different blueprints on each one, five in total and the red dots were now distributed in two of them.

 

The sounds of Same and his “distraction” kept going on the background and suddenly more struggle noises came to his ears. Those were different, without the curses and more silent moves, no labored breathing, when those sounds faded that voice took their place.

 

_“Personnel neutralized in the control room 1, connecting devices now.”_

A soon as she stopped talking the screens of Kirishima’s Intel team came to live, the ten men and women moved their fingers over their keyboards with incredible speed, their screens filled with codes and numbers.

 

“What are they doing?”

 

“Neko and Tora connected special devices on Midoriya’s equipment, those devices allow our team to get full control over them remotely, they are hacking their system. Now we will be able to go through their files.”

 

Akihito didn’t know why he kept surprising, after all the crazy things that had happened that day he thought he should be used to it but clearly it was not the case.

 

_“Moving to underground level 2. Kuma, distraction 2.”_

_“Yes, miss”_

Again another red dot of the first blueprint moved from its place and soon enough confrontation sounds flooded the radio. Suddenly a loud thunder was heard, followed by more curses.

 

_“Sorry miss, I was getting surrounded, had to use the grenade.”_

_“They will notice us if we don’t hurry. Tora, to underground level 2. I will go to underground level 3.”_

The photographer heard a little growl, when he heard it again he realized it didn’t came from the radio, it came from Asami. The crime lord’s sight was glued to the screens, a fierce look in his golden eyes following the red dots in the blueprints. He looked focused, kind of angry and the photographer found traces of concern on his face but not too much. _‘He looks sexy’_ Akihito’s attention was brought back to the radio when more small explosions were heard.

 

_“Hebi here, forced to enter in combat, some forces are retreating back to the building.”_

_“Tora here, personnel neutralized in control room 2, connecting devices.”_

_“Neko here, connecting devices in control room 3.”_

Again Kirishima’s team got into action, their computers filled with codes and files. A small woman stopped typing and turned to face the secretary.

 

“Sir, found traces of deleted and relocated information.”

 

Kirishima stood behind her and gave a bunch of orders, they needed to trace every bit of missing information, if it was deleted or transferred to another server could only meant one thing: it was important. Time seemed to elongate, the woman´s fingers moved like crazy over the keyboard, the secretary read everything that popped on the screen with thunder speed, number, codes, files, everything. Finally his eyes shinned in victory behind his glasses when he saw what he needed: the relocation route, unfortunately the feeling didn’t last long, the route was a private server, Midoriya Kojiro’s private server.

 

A small spark of hope lighted again when another team member said maybe he could hack that server, he just needed some time. The whole team moved as one, they needed to hurry, every second was precious. Again all the screens in front of their eyes were flooded by tons of information and in the mean while the only sound that could be heard in the room was Kirishima barking orders and the rest of the team typing and reporting every time one of them passed a barrier.  

 

The secretary couldn’t hide a small grin, they were getting closer, in no time they would be able to get hold of the information his boss needed, his team was the best in the field. Suddenly his grin disappeared to be replaced by a deep frown, all the screens of the Intel team glowed in a bright blue and a message written in big white letters: Connection lost.

 

Everyone in the room stood completely still and in complete silence, Akihito could hear the breathing of each of them. The radio broke the spell.

 

_“Power is off, they know we are here. Retreat.”_

“Neko, the information is in Midoriya’s private server, we couldn’t access in time.”

 

_“Team, retreat to safe point two. I will stay to do something about that, what do you need Kirishima-san?”_

 

Kirishima pushed his glasses up and informed what he needed. Kojiro’s computer or his files, any hint she could find was welcomed, at that point anything would be better than nothing. The room was still in complete silence, there was nothing anyone inside could do but wait, everyone’s eyes fixed on the red spots in the blueprints of the screens. Three dots had already disappeared and the two remaining were moving fast across the screens, finally there was only one left. All the team was out of the building except for Neko whose dot signaled was in the first floor.

 

_“I’ll search in Kojiro’s office, there must b…”_

Static.

 

The communication line was dead, Kirishima and Suoh tried to contact her and her team but got no answer. The control room was alive again, filled with furious typing, barked orders and rushed instructions in an attempt to reestablish the communication with no success.

 

A couple of minutes later there was complete silence again, the air was heavy, no one dared to make any sound. The only thing Akihito could hear beside the static from the radio was the fast throbbing of his own heart. She was alone in the middle of the enemy’s headquarters with no support of any sort, it was suicidal. His mind was racing with possibilities when the static stopped.

 

_“Here Same, Kuma and Hebi. Arrived at safe point two without problems. Communication lost in the surroundings of Midoriya’s headquarters, they must have activated some kind of signal blocker.”_

That made no change in the photographer’s nerves. A couple of more minutes of anguished waiting passed and the radio came alive again.

 

_“Tora here. Now at safe  point two.”_

But that was not enough, that was not the voice Akihito was waiting to hear. He needed to know that shy bookworm sweet girl was safe, not in the hands of a powerful and dangerous yakuza family. The wait was killing him, every second that passed seemed like an hour, he was losing his mind but what drove him crazy the most was the unexpressive face of the golden eyed crime lord. In everyone’s faces were hints of concern, even in Kirishima’s, but in Asami’s was nothing, not a single drop of anything, just a perfect poker face. Akihito was pissed by that, how could he not care? The crime lord was definitely going to listen to him, the photographer turned to face Asami and opened his mouth to let his thoughts out. They never came, the radio was on again and that voice flooded the room.

 

_“Neko here. Safe and reunited with the rest of the team, heading back to Sion.”_

Akihito let out a sigh, finally his heart slowed down to a normal speed and exhaustion took over his mind, he instinctively leaned on Asami for stability. The next events happened in a blur; Asami dismissed the Intel team and gently guided Akihito to his office followed by Kirishima and Suoh. The photographer found himself sitting on the couch of Asami’s office with his head supported on Asami’s shoulder when there was a knock on the door. Suddenly he was not tired anymore, Akihito jumped from the couch to face the five people who entered.

 

Akihito was surprised for what could be the 100th time of the day when his eyes met Shibata’s, he hadn’t recognized the bodyguard’s voice on the radio, but that was not a strange outcome, the photographer had been so focused on Sayuri’s that he had paid no attention to the others. The bodyguard bowed and behind him three other men did the same.

 

And then he saw them, brown/green eyes staring at him.

 

“Good job, get some rest and take tomorrow off. You are dismissed. Neko, stay.”

 

Akihito watched how the four men left leaving only Sayuri on her place, he still couldn’t believe she was _Neko_. The photographer couldn’t take his eyes off her, she had not a single scratch. When she stepped to give Kirishima a backpack he noticed the black combat gear she was wearing made her look older and a million times deadlier. Akihito didn’t know how much time had passed but at some point he found himself face to face with her.

 

“Natsume…”

 

He had no idea of what to say, his brain was mess.

 

“I thought we had an agreement, _Takaba-sama.”_

 

He snapped. Realization hit him like cold water, yes, she was a professional assassin but she also was the shy girl he knew. Then he noticed something, her eyes and shy smile were not the same he remembered, there was something in them, it was a mix fear and worry. But Akihito knew it was nor fear for her life or anything near that, she seemed afraid of him, of his reaction towards her now that he knew who she was.

 

And Akihito also knew what he had to do, the blond grinned brightly.

 

“Right, Sayuri.”

 

Her eyes lighted up, no trace of fear or concern left on her face, just a sincere warm smile.

 

TBC.


	13. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito processes the past events and comes to terms with Sayuri’s identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Sorry for the delay in updating this chapter but it’s finally here! Some quiet and calm time for Aki and Asami before a new wave of drama kicks in, hope you like it.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, all the comments and kudos, I’m really happy about them, love you all.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point any of them out or ask if something is not clear, I will try to correct them immediately and will explain everything right away.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 13. TRUST**

The environment of Asami’s office had changed a lot in a matter of minutes, at first it was heavy while they waited for Neko and her team to come back, then in became lighter when they arrived only to become heavy again as a confused photographer stared at his _companion_ trying to get hold of his own mind, then it felt suffocating as Akihito talked to Sayuri but soon enough the office was sparkling again with relief. The relief didn’t last long though. With the emotional roller-coaster now at rest Akihito was busy speaking his mind to Asami while Suoh, Kirishima and a pretty uncomfortable Sayuri watched.

 

“You lied to me!”

 

“I didn’t.”

 

“Yes you did! You never told me she is an assassin, you said she was doing desk job!”

 

Akihito was boiling in anger, but not only because of the whole thing with Sayuri but also because Asami seemed to enjoy Akihito’s outburst. The man had a satisfied grin on his face which made Akihito even angrier.

 

“No I didn’t, the only thing I told you is that she is a very capable woman, the desk job part was your own thinking.”

 

The photographer gaped as he tried to remember his conversations with both of them, maybe he was right. But he wasn’t over yet so Akihito turned to face Sayuri, she was part of the issue too.

 

“You told me you were part of the Intelligence team! “

 

“I am, my job in the team is to gather information using more… unconventional methods that leave no trace to Asami-sama or Sion. “

 

“B-but…”

 

“I also told you that’s not the only thing I do, I just didn’t mention what those other things are...”

 

Asami was enjoying the view, his little kitten was gaping with wide eyes clearly working his brains out in an attempt to remember every single conversation they had had only to find that what they said was true. His face showed every emotion possible until it settled in clear embarrassment. That was when Asami decided it was enough of that talk for the day, all of them needed to rest.

 

“We can discuss this later. Natsume, good job, go get some rest.”

 

Sayuri made a low bow and exited the office leaving the blushing photographer with Asami and his two most trusted men. Once the door was closed again the crime lord gently guided Akihito back to the couch.

 

“Stay here, Kirishima, Suoh and I need to discuss some issues in private. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

 

Akihito sighed; there was no use to keep thinking about everything that had happened that day. The blond man sat on the couch and rested his head in the backrest; when he heard the three men exit the office he decided to let his mind wander in everything and nothing until he felt exhaustion taking over his body, his eyelids felt heavier every second that passed and in a matter of minutes he welcomed the dream realm.

 

A little less than an hour later Asami entered his office again and yawned, it was the first hours of the morning and the day had been too long he needed a good rest. He walked to the couch and was greeted by the sight of Akihito curled in a ball snoring lightly. The crime lord noticed the bags under his boy’s eyes, he was clearly exhausted and with good reason, if the day had proven hard on Asami it had been worse to Akihito, he had not only ran through half of Tokyo but also the stress of being pursued and the anxious wait for his “ _companion”_ had clearly drained all of his energy.

 

Asami gently picked him up and carried him all the way to the limo, careful to no wake him up. The ride back to the penthouse was quick as there were no other cars on the streets, the only sounds heard were the gentle rumble of the engine and the deep breathing of his sleeping kitten.

 

***

 

Akihito slowly began to wake, without opening his eyes he tried to figure out where he was through his fuzzy mind. Under him there was a soft surface, he knew that to be a mattress, under his head was a puffy pillow and behind he could feel a warm firm wall. When he tried to move away from it he found he couldn’t, something was tangled in his waist, the photographer opened his eyes and realized the wall behind him wasn’t a wall, it was Asami’s chest and he had his arms around the photographer’s waist in a firm yet gentle embrace.

 

Suddenly the arms around him tightened their grip and he felt something burying in his hair, a hand reached to caress his check while a baritone voice whispered against his hair.

 

“Good morning, kitten. Did you got some good rest?”

 

Akihito was surprised at the “morning” mention, he felt like he had slept for ages, looking around he found the clock on the side table and noticed it wasn’t noon yet. He made an effort to remember how he made it back to the penthouse but found nothing stored in his mind, he didn’t even remembered falling asleep. It was obvious Asami had carried him back and judging by the feeling of the fabric of the sheets against his body, Asami had also stripped him before cuddling with him, but that didn’t matter, he felt fully rested.

 

“Yeah, I needed that. I’m fine now.”

 

 

 Despite he was not looking to the boy’s face Asami knew there was a beautiful blush in his cheeks, his hand went down to brush against his neck while his lips placed tender kisses behind the blondes ear.

 

“I’m glad, that means you have energy to have some action. There’s still some time before Kirishima comes to pick me up.”

 

He didn’t wait for a verbal response, his hands were already wandering through Akihito’s body lower and lower. The moans and gasps that left the blondes mouth every time he pinched a nipple or bitted his neck were enough answer. By the time Asami’s hands reached their destination Akihito could feel Asami’s arousal pressed against him, which elicited another moan out of his throat while turning his head to press his lips against Asami’s.

 

***

 

The wonderful smell of coffee flooded the penthouse; Akihito was in the kitchen preparing something to eat after a couple of rounds in the bedroom and other ones in the bathroom, by the time they were done it was past noon and they had little time left before heading back to reality. Asami emerged from his bedroom with his three piece suit hugging his body perfectly and his hair combed back neatly, Kirishima was going to arrive soon.

 

At some point after their shower Akihito had told Asami everything that had happened the day before but right there, while slicing a carrot and remembering the beautiful orange sky he had seen the day before Akihito realized he had missed something important.

 

“Hattie was there.”

 

Asami raised an eyebrow expecting more of an explanation. It was the first time he heard about the hat man in a while.

 

“He was there, when Sayuri threw me to the ground I saw him on the rooftop above us, he was watching us.”

 

“Are you sure? Did you see his face?”

 

“I’m sure. The sunlight was on his back so all I could see was a dark figure but I’m certain it was him.”

 

Asami frowned, his eyes revealing a deadly aura. The hat mas was there, probably to make sure his men didn’t fail to get Akihito but now that they had failed his plans were not clear. He was going to try again, that was sure, but the problem was to find out when and how, he was getting closer to his objective after each attempt.

 

The crime lord’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock in the door, Kirishima had arrived. After a deep kiss to Akihito, Asami passed through the door, the photographer followed him and stayed by the entrance watching him leave.

 

When Asami and Kirishima reached the elevator the crime lord saw Sayuri standing next to it, after the young woman bowed he whispered to her as he entered the elevator.

 

“The hat man was there and saw you, he might want you out of the way next time. Be careful.”

 

As soon as the elevator door closed Sayuri made her way to her usual spot in front of the penthouse door, she bowed again, this time to Akihito who was still standing there.

 

“Hi… ummm… come in, I hate to leave you out here sitting on the floor all day.”

 

“I don’t think that´s appropriate.”

 

“Yes it is, besides, I can be a better company than a book. Come in, don´t make me say it as an order.”

 

Knowing she couldn’t argue with him Sayuri entered the penthouse and followed Akihito to the living room, they stayed there for a while with an uncomfortable silence growing in the air, neither of them was sure of what to say or do, that was the first time they were both completely alone with no grocery shopping or job searching or pursuers. Akihito let his brain race in search of a conversation topic but the only thing that popped in his mind was her job, he knew he had to talk to her about it but couldn’t find the right way, if he was not going to talk about it ¿just yet then what could he use? The weather? Too cliché. Movies? He had no idea what kind of movies she liked. Music? Same problem. Luckily for him Sayuri decided to break the silence with her head down and her voice almost a whisper.

 

“I… I want to apologize to you, Akihito-san.”

 

That was nothing close of what Akihito had thought for a conversation. Looking at her with a puzzled look he waited for her to continue.

 

“I… made assumptions on my own about you. If I had trust you and your capabilities we could have gotten out of yesterday’s situation more easily. I knew you practice parkour and you must have quite some skills to do your job but I decided to ignore that. I should have trusted you, I’m sorry.”

 

Akihito was startled; he definitely was not expecting that in the slightest and now seeing he the young woman do a perfect 90° bow was just too much.

 

“You can stop that, it’s ok. I’m glad you realize I could have kicked their asses if I wanted though.”

 

“That’s a different mater Akihito-san, even though I recognize your skills, engaging a fight with several armed and trained men is out of question, that’s something I’m sure you can’t do without getting hurt.”

 

“You don’t know that! I could have taken all of them down, running is not the only thing I can do, don’t underestimate my fighting skills!”

 

“Then prove it to me, knock me down and I’ll believe you.”

 

Akihito looked at her dumbfounded, her request was quite extreme. After several minutes arguing over it and Akihito making clear he didn’t want to hurt her, it was certain that was the only way the girl was going to let it go so he finally accepted. Using the living room as battle field both of them assumed their positions, Akihito tried to talk her out again only to get her request to do his best. Finally he launched himself towards his companion. He gave some punches, even some good kicks but none of them hit their target, Sayuri kept dodging them pretty easily, when he heard her ask if that was the best he could do the photographer decided to stop holding back and attacked with all his might.

 

 How he had ended up staring at the ceiling was a complete mystery to Akihito. One second he was focused executing his best attack and the next one he was lying flat on his back with Sayuri straddling him over his chest, his arms completely trapped by the girl’s legs, one of her hands over his neck and the other one in a fist ready to punch him in the face.

 

“Anybody with minimum training could have managed this, instead of my fist could be a knife or a gun, also, I could have injured you multiple times before. This is no game, if you doubt for a second you can lose your life, Akihito-san.”

 

Akihito was speechless, he could not move under her, there was no way out. The only thing he could do was look at her in the eyes while she continued going through her point.

 

“You are very important to Asami-sama but not even him can protect you if you don´t cooperate to keep yourself safe. I am not here to lock you in the penthouse or babysit you, I am here to help you be safe of the dangers of Asami-sama’s world. I will do my best to not interfere with your normal life or your job but I will definitely protect you, even if it cost me my own life. I am professionally trained so please, Akihito-san, rely on me.”

 

Looking straight in her eyes the photographer felt guilty, he had done the exact same thing he hated when done to him and had ignored the truth he had proved to other several times: looks can be deceiving. He had judged her by her appearance and concluded she was weak; he had even placed her in a certain type of job. And he was absolutely wrong.

 

Opening his mouth to speak up he stopped before a sound could leave his throat, Sayuri´s eyes widened and her face turned a powerful shade of red. Quickly she stood up and walked some steps away from him avoiding eye contact. Still lying on the floor Akihito was confused.

 

“W-What?”

 

“Y-your s-shirt…”

 

Akihito directed his gaze to his t-shit to find out during the fight it had slide down a little off one of his shoulders revealing some of his fair skin… and a rather big love bite. Now with his face on a bright red too he stood up and covered his shoulder again, both of the human tomatoes stood there in another awkward silence.

 

“I… I’m sorry too…”

 

“You don’t have to! It was my fault, I should have been more careful…”

 

The photographer turned an even deeper shade of red, shaking his hands in front of him he was quick to explain what he meant.

 

“Not about that! I also made assumptions on you based on your appearance, I thought you were weak and made a fuss about it, I’m sorry.”

 

“Let’s make a deal. From now on we will talk to each other and work together. We will handle any situation using both of our strengths; I will rely on you as much as you rely on me.”

 

Akihito liked the idea, if they had had better communication and trusted each other before things could have gone smoothly and been way less dangerous for both of them. It was an agreement that benefited them both, he would have more freedom and good backup and she would do her job more easily. Grinning brightly, Akihito was up to give it a try, if things went smoothly Sayuri could even become something more than an assigned bodyguard, he felt she could be a friend.

 

“Deal. Now, do you want to watch a movie?”

 

TBC.


	14. Blackmail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami finds out what is in Midoriya’s personal files.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Time to follow Asami around a little, hope you like it.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, all the comments and kudos, I’m really happy about them, love you all.
> 
> Once again let me remind you English is not my first language so this might have a lot of mistakes, please feel free to point any of them out, I will try to correct them immediately.
> 
> Please enjoy and comments are very welcome!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 14. BLACKMAIL**

The limo pulled over at the entrance of the club, almost immediately Kirishima descended and hurried to open the door for his boss, today needed to be perfect, Kirishima could read in Asami’s face something was bothering him. After handing the limo keys to another guard the secretary followed his boss trough Sion’s halls over to the crime lord’s office.

 

“Call Suoh, tell him to come immediately.”

 

The secretary bowed and left to do what asked, in just a couple of minutes Asami’s office was occupied by the three men, Kirishima and Suoh standing in front of his desk while their boss sat on the chair in front of them, exhaling a cloud of Dunhill smoke Asami felt the nicotine getting to his system.

 

“Akihito remembered something, he saw the hat man in the roof watching the whole thing.”

 

His two most trusted men looked at each other, after a light nod between them Suoh made some quick calls while Kirishima got busy with his tablet, everything under the intense gaze of their boss watching their every move. Soon enough Suoh hanged his phone and gave another nod to Kirishima who made some quick moves with his tablet to show Asami the screen seconds later.  A bunch of recordings of surveillance cameras showed up.

 

The three men watched the recordings until they found what they were looking for, in the recording of a store one block away from the alley where Akihito had seen him was a masculine figure, all dress in black and his face hidden behind a black hat. They followed his tracks, searching for any recording that could tell them where he was going or who was he, they were able to follow him for another six blocks when suddenly he stopped, turned directly to face the camera making sure his face was not visible, he pulled his hat down a little more, a car passed in front of him blocking the view for a second and then he was gone, he could not be found in any other recording, the hat man had vanished in the air.

 

***

 

As always his office smelled of Dunhill, a thick fog of smoke clouded the environment. A man with blond hair and blue eyes stood in front of the desk watching every movement the smoking man by the window was doing.

 

“I need your services; all of my men had failed so far.  I’m aware of your situation and if you succeed this will benefit both of us.”

 

Sudou looked at him in the eye, they had worked together in the past but it had always been small jobs. He had the impression this one was way bigger.

 

“What do you want and what I get of it?

 

“I want you to get rid of Asami Ryuichi’s pet. That boy is his weakness and without him I can take over Asami’s throne. You, my friend, get to do whatever you want with that photographer, I’m also aware you two have some unsolved issues.”

 

Sudou considered his options, it was true he wanted to settle things with that annoying photographer but that was a very dangerous thing to do considering his relation with Asami, also to help him get Asami’s position was even more risky and, being true to himself, it wasn’t Sudou’s wish to harm Asami. Sensing his uneasiness, the smoking man tried another thing.

 

“You also get to keep Asami for yourself when it’s over, I’m not planning to kill him, just to take over his empire.”

 

That caught the blonde attention; keep Asami for himself was beyond his dreams.

 

“Ok, I’m in. I’ll start right away.”

 

“Good, coordinate with my secretary, she will give you all the information you might need.”

 

Sudou exited the office tracing a plan on his mind, he had an annoying human being to disappear.

 

The smoking man exhaled another cloud of grey smoke, enjoying his third cigarette of the hour still by the window he waited for his secretary to come. The sound of high heels announced her presence outside her office and after a quick knock to the door the woman entered.

 

“Sir, May I ask which are your intentions? You don’t plan to let Asami live, do you?”

 

“No, I’m not. But Sudou-kun doesn’t have to know that, he is just another piece of this game and I will take advantage of it as most as possible. We just needed him to work for us so I used the right incentive to make it happen, when his purpose is fulfilled then we will give him some vacations at Tokyo Bay, I’m sure Kojiro-san would appreciate the company.”

 

 He put his cigarette on the ash tray, a malicious smile forming on his face. He just needed to wait and see what Sudou came up with; then he could put his own plan in motion.

 

***

 

Asami lighted his second Dunhill of the day, since he left the penthouse early in the afternoon he felt something bothering him, his gut was telling him something was wrong or was going to be soon.

 

The crime lord heard a knock at his door and Kirishima entered with Suoh behind him, a backpack on his hands that Asami recognized as the one Sayuri had retrieved from Midoriya’s headquarters.

 

“Asami-sama, Neko managed to bring Midoriya Kojiro’s personal computer and some documents, this is what we found.”

 

Kirishima put the computer on Asami’s desk and opened a series of files, in there were lots of documents, images and evens some videos.

 

“First I think its better to look at these, Asami-sama.”

 

Suoh handed him a series of folders, Asami flipped through their pages and silently read all the information in them while Suoh and Kirishima stood still on their spots waiting patiently for his boss to finish. Finally Asami put down the folders and gave his cigarette a long puff. The documents he had just seen contained several threats against Midoriya Kojiro and his group if he didn’t helped the sender but also contained Kojiro’s resistance, his initials turn downs and counter attacks, even the result of some search trying to figure out who the anonymous sender was, the documents even showed files of his own men who had been killed off by the same person in an attempt to force his partnership.

 

“So someone wanted Kojiro’s force and decided to try and blackmail him, any idea of why he finally gave up?”

 

Kirishima stepped forward and clicked at a video on Kojiro’s computer, immediately Asami understood. Two persons were tied up inside a concrete room, a beautiful woman with brown hair and deep gray eyes and a little girl with darker hair but the same gray eyes, they were Kojiro’s wife and daughter. Their cries muffled by a gag on their mouths and a voice speaking over directly to the camera, they were going to kill them both if Kojiro kept refusing to cooperate, a man dressed completely in black and a mask covering his face came into view just to kick the wife in the stomach and punch the little girl in the face, the video ended after a clear message: you have no choice anymore.

 

Kirishima showed him some other things, there were several pictures of the captive women, being beaten, full of bruises, showing deep cuts on their backs, each worse than the last one. More videos were found where one or both of the prisoners were tortured or cried for help. Every single one of them with a message attached with instructions for Kojiro to follow.

 

Asami read detailed documents on how Kojiro was forced to order his men to follow every instruction from the hat man as if they were his own but also how the man continued a research on his own to find his family and the culprit of their suffering.

 

Five Dunhills were gone and Asami reached a document that he couldn’t open, immediately Kirishima stepped forward again.

 

“The Intel team had the worst time trying to open that, the level of security in that file was extreme so it took a while but finally we were able to access it.”

 

The secretary typed some codes on the computer and just after the intro key was hit the file name changed, Asami couldn’t help but frown, there were the only two words he would never imagine to read in the man’s computer: Asami Ryuichi.

 

Without losing any time he opened the file, a single document was shown, a letter from Midoriya Kojiro to Asami Ryuichi.

 

_"I was sure you would be able to find this, thank you for searching. As you can see from the other files I left I am being blackmailed, they have my family, I have no other choice anymore. I know I will die, I know by the time you read this I will be already death so this is the only thing I have left. We have been business partners for some years now and the stuff I am forced to do will have an impact on you, I’m sorry about that. I know is selfish what I’m about to ask but you are the only one I can trust this with: please, find my family. My wife, Kyoko, has nothing to do with our world, she is sweet and caring and a good mother, she does not deserve this; my daughter, Nagisa, is only 9 years old, she’s my little angel and I failed them, I wasn’t able to keep them safe, now I beg you to save them. My men probably don’t know I’m no longer in the living realm, please don’t harm them unless is absolutely necessary, they are just following the orders I was forced to give them, if you prove to them my death and hand them the documents proof of the blackmail I am positive they will become you allies, give them a chance, they are good loyal men._

_Also I want to warn you, the organization behind this is powerful, I know I’m not the only group leader they have under their control, watch your back, but more important, watch your loved ones. I am sure even the king of the underworld has someone he cares for, keep them safe, don´t let them get in the same situation as my family, keep them close, protect your home._

_Good luck._

_Midoriya Kojiro"_

Asami closed the computer, in a few sentences Kojiro had been able to change the whole situation for Asami, the group they were facing was powerful, more than he had imagined. There was no way for him to know who was an ally and who wasn’t, Asami and his men were alone in a declared war against him. The crime lord rubbed the bridge of his nose and signaled Kirishima to call the secretary’s personal assistant in, a couple of minutes later the sound of high heels echoed through his office and a tall red haired woman entered through the door, stood in front of his desk and made a 90° bow.

 

“Tachibana, gather an Intel team for you to use, find Midoriya Kojiro’s family, its top priority. You will report directly to Kirishima or to me, no one else.”

 

“As you wish, Asami-sama.”

 

After Kirishima handed her some files for her to use she exited the office, immediately the secretary and the head of security looked at their boss.

 

“We will search for the hat man, according to what Akihito heard in Maeda’s stakeout he is the one responsible of the blackmail to Kojiro, this is OUR top priority, nobody is to know this beside us and Natsume. Suoh, you inform her about the situation and get her to gather information when she is not with Akihito. Kirishima, use your most trusted personnel of the Intel team and search everything you can. Suoh, make a cleaning of the guards, I want to know if we have been infiltrated.”

 

“At once Asami-sama.”

 

Both men bowed and left the office, phones on hand and a bunch of work in their minds.

 

***

 

It was past midnight when Asami got back to the penthouse, exhaustion washed over his mind and body. Images of the videos and photographs he had seen some hours before popped in his mind but what kept bothering him were the words of Kojiro’s letter, ‘ _Watch your loved ones.’_ Natsume was definitely going to keep being Akihito’s bodyguard, if he wanted Akihito to be safe he knew that was the better option. _‘Protect your home.’_ The penthouse was as safe as it could be but why would Kojiro say that? His home was not somewhere the enemy could find information or anything useful, everything was at Sion.

 

Asami opened the door to find an extra pair of shoes in the genkan, he recognized them to belong to Natsume. That was good, that meant Akihito was not uncomfortable with her so he would not ditch her anytime soon. As he took of his own shoes at placed them next to Akihito’s snickers Kojiro’s words came back _‘Protect your home.’_ And then he realized it, _home_ was not the penthouse, _home_ was where the loved ones are.

 

He moved through the apartment until he reached the living room, the first thing he saw was Natsume sitting cross legged on the floor next to the couch reading a book. As soon as he stepped in the living room she stood and bowed and spoke in a low voice.

 

“Welcome back, Asami-sama.”

 

The crime lord took in the state of the living room, a bowl with some popcorn on the table, TV showing the credits of a movie with the volume low and the package of said movie next to the popcorn.

 

“I’m sorry for the intrusion, Asami-sama, Akihito-san insisted. We watched a horror movie, or at least tried to, he fell asleep in the middle of it, I had to keep the TV on because every time I tried to turn it off he stirred.”

 

Asami directed his sight to the couch, sprawled over the complete surface of the couch Akihito was deep asleep with a blanket covering his body, Asami looked at his sleeping face, his kitten was relaxed, in peace. Suddenly the exhaustion that covered him disappeared, he felt like he could watch his boy sleep for hours and the only thing he wanted to do was to take him in his arms.

 

“I’m home.”

 

TBC.


	15. Penthouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito is alone at the penthouse and the warning “protect your home” doesn’t sound as a mere suggestion anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> First of all I’m really sorry about the delay in posting this chapter, holidays are crazy time in my family so it got kind of difficult to find time on my own to write. That being said, happy 2017 to all of you, I know is kind of late but I truly wish you all a happy new year. One of my personal goals is to become a responsible working adult, I’m an adult so that’s already done, responsible is a work in progress and the working part… well, the job hunt is about to get started. I’ll try my best to update regularly now on (that is included in the “responsible” part) so please be patient with my clumsy and chronic procrastinator self.
> 
> I hope you are up for a long chapter, usually my chapters are around 2000 words but I got a little carried away writing this one and ended up with almost 4000, I know is not actually too long but is a personal record!!! Hope you like it!!!!
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, all the comments and kudos, I’m really happy about them, love you all.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so mistakes might be a common occurrence, feel free to point them out and I’ll do something about them.
> 
> Please enjoy and feel free to comment, I do read all of your comments, they make me really happy and are a powerful encouragement to keep writing my crazy ideas.
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 15. PENTHOUSE.**

Blue eyes blinked open as the morning light got to them, feeling all warm and cozy Akihito took some minutes to enjoy the sensation of being fully rested and the sight of the peacefully sleeping man beside him. Feeling Asami’s arm surrounding him the photographer caressed it softly, careful not to wake Asami up. To start every day in the crime lord’s bed was a common occurrence lately, when was the last time he had slept in his own bed? Akihito didn’t know the answer, but he was certain that it didn’t matter, the minutes he passed observing his asleep partner were precious, were the few moments he could see him completely relaxed and in peace. Allowing himself to cuddle a little longer before breakfast Akihito found himself for the second time in two days not knowing how and when he made it to bed, the last thing his memory had registered was part of the horror movie he was watching with Sayuri while waiting for Asami. That meant he had fallen asleep at some point and Asami had carried him to bed… again. Not that he cared.

 

After a couple of minutes, Akihito finally gathered the strength to get up and start the day, with extreme caution he unwrapped Asami’s arm from his waist and slipped out of bed. After a shower the photographer started with the breakfast preparation with a sleeping crime lord still in bed.

 

Delicious smells flooded the penthouse while breakfast was cocked and music could be heard from the kitchen, Akihito was humming a song and moving his hips at the music with just his boxers and an apron covering his body as a showered and fully dressed Asami entered the kitchen.

 

“Smells good.”

 

“Morning.”

 

The photographer felt a wandering hand in his backside, brushing lightly against his butt. Akihito blushed and turned to face Asami only to get a kiss in response, when they finally separated the blond was panting and after a weak _“Breakfast is almost ready”_ left to his room to return minutes later fully dressed. Akihito plated the food and both of them sat to eat, the photographer didn’t missed the grin on the crime lord’s face.

 

“What’s so funny?”

 

“Horror movies with Natsume? I take it you are still ok with her around.”

 

“We made an agreement and what’s wrong with watching a movie with her? I was bored and also I don’t like that she has to wait on the hall all alone until past midnight waiting for you to arrive.”

 

“Agreement?”

 

“That’s between Sayuri and me, don’t stick your nose in my business.”

 

Akihito didn’t wanted Asami to know their agreement, it was not that there were something wrong with it, it just felt good to have someone from Asami’s world that would treat him as an equal but knowing Asami’s possessiveness it was better not to tell him that, the last thing he wanted was to get Sayuri fired and him having a new guard to get used to.

 

Once breakfast was gone Asami made his way to the door, Akihito followed him, he hadn’t even said he was leaving so the photographer was about to ask him when Asami opened the door, Sayuri was in her usual spot, cross legged in the floor with an open book in her hands. After a greeting and a bow from her Asami signaled the young woman to come in.

 

Seconds later Asami and a confused Akihito were sitting on the couch while Sayuri was standing in front of them.

 

“Akihito, I want you to stay inside all day, I need Natsume to do a job.”

 

“What? No, I have plans for today.”

 

“Now you don’t, after the last days I don’t want you out of here without supervision.”

 

“Then assign another guard just for today, I’m not staying here.”

 

Asami sighed, he knew from the start the conversation would not be an easy one but he truly needed Akihito to stay in the penthouse, he was safe there so if he needed to play dirty he was going to.

 

“Both of us know you can’t stand any other guard, its Natsume or no one and “no one” is not an option right now. You will be as safe as you can be here so I won’t have to worry about you while she is away.”

 

But Akihito was not buying it, defiance was on his eyes, time to play dirty.

 

“If you insist on this she will have to stay but since she is the only one who can do the job I have for her she will have to put an all-nighter.”

 

That made the trick, Akihito eyes widened and moved from Asami to Sayuri over and over. There was no doubt about it, Asami was serious but if Sayuri had something to say about it she didn’t tell. Dropping his shoulders in defeat the photographer gave a resigned sigh.

 

“Fine, I’ll call my editor.”

 

“Just so you know, if you leave the penthouse at any moment I’ll have her back immediately so don’t try anything funny.”

 

Busted even before he could think about it, Akihito glared at him and stuck out his tongue. With his defeated kitten convinced, Asami proceeded to give instructions to the young woman.  

 

“Natsume, report to Suoh immediately, he will inform you about the situation and assign your initial tasks.”

 

The girl bowed and left the penthouse, leaving the photographer and the crime lord alone again. They didn’t spoke for some time, Akihito kept himself busy cleaning while Asami read the newspaper, there was complete silence until Asami decided to break the spell.

 

“You could watch again last night’s horror movie.”

 

“Shut up! No more naked apron for you!”

 

***

 

He took a deep smoke of his Dunhill, what was left of the last three of them could be seen in the ash tray on his desk. Asami released the smoke and the grey cloud disappeared in the air leaving its characteristic smell behind.

 

The crime lord had been taking care of his normal business all morning, the meetings had taken longer than expected and some small problems had surfaced in one of his clubs, everything small and insignificant compared to what truly had his mid racing: The hat man.

Asami took another deep smoke and listened carefully to his secretary, finally the first report was ready.

 

“Natsume-san has been informed about the situation and her first job has been completed, she was able to gather all of the surveillance recordings from the areas where we know the hat man had been in the last weeks.”

 

“Good. Call her in to report. Call Tachibana too.”

 

Asami released a last cloud of gray smoke and put the rest of his Dunhill on the ash tray; Kirishima gave his boss a light nod and immediately took out his phone to make the calls while he opened one of the windows to ventilate the room.

 

***

 

After a bow the girl left the office with a folder in her hands, Suoh had informed her about the situation and their mission, then he instructed her about her first job. It had been easier than she had actually thought; Kirishima’s reports had every single detail on Akihito’s information about Hattie so finding the surveillance recordings available from each of the places where he had been seen was a child’s game. The fun part was to retrieve them, since there was no legal motive or resource to ask for them politely she had to get hold of them in more creative ways, or so she had thought; in the end she didn’t even had to be that creative, civilian security was so weak it wasn’t even funny to break into the buildings, she had simply entered through the front doors and sneaked quietly to the control rooms, wait for the guards to look another way and seconds later it was done, just too easy.

 

She had finished earlier than expected so Sayuri helped Suoh through his initial check of all the guards, the very first step to know if there was a traitor among them. Now with that done the young woman left the security chief’s office with the results of said check to hand them to Kirishima while Suoh kept digging.

 

Walking with her usual quietness she arrived to Kirishima’s office and greeted his personal assistant outside the secretary’s office, the red haired woman jumped in her chair behind her desk, startled, but didn’t complained much about it, she was used to it.

 

“Hi, Natsume-chan. Didn’t hear you again, I still wonder how you do that. Weren’t you assigned as Takaba-sama’s guard?”

 

“I am but right now he is safe at home so there is no need for me to be there, I’m actually looking for Kirishima-san, I have some documents from Suoh-san that we need him to see.”

 

The assistant smiled at her.

 

“I’m sorry sweetheart but he is not here right now, he is with Asami-sama.”

 

Sayuri smiled her back and thanked her, just as she was about to say goodbye her phone went off, Kirishima’s name showing on the screen. She smiled again to Tachibana before answering the call.

 

“Speaking of the devil.”

 

The instructions the secretary gave her were short, ‘ _come to Asami-sama’s office and bring Tachibana along_ ’. Direct, precise, just like the man.  Both women walked to the instructed place peacefully chatting along the way.

 

***

 

The sound of high heels against the floor gave up the arrival of Kirishima’s assistant, knowing a light footed Sayuri was with her he opened the door before they could knock. Both women entered the office and bowed at the same time waiting for their bosses order.

 

“Tachibana, report.”

 

“The Intel team designed for the Kojiro family mission is settled and ready to go, I have them digging some more on the files Natsume-chan retrieved, maybe we can find something useful or another hint.”

 

She walked forward and handled Asami a folder, the crime lord studied its content carefully, the names and basic background of her Intel team were there, along with detailed reports of their findings so far. Nothing useful yet.

 

“Work as fast as you can, I want them alive. You are dismissed.”

 

The red haired woman bowed again and left the office. As soon as she was gone Sayuri handed Kirishima the folder Suoh sent him and a pen drive.

 

“The initial check on all the guards is done, nothing wrong so far but Suoh-san is digging deeper. In the pen drive are the recordings of all the places we know Hattie has been, unfortunately he is good at disappearing so his track is lost after a couple of minutes each time and he is careful to hide his face. He’s smart, cautious, and pretty organized, that could narrow down the suspects, some of our enemies are not that brilliant.”

 

Asami stared at the recordings Kirishima was showing him on his tablet, there were not too many recording of the hat man and in the few ones he appeared there was nothing useful.

 

“He is also presumptuous, every time before disappearing he looks to the camera, he is mocking us.”

 

Asami was right, the same thing they saw after the alleys ambush repeated minutes later after the trade in the old factory and near the court house where Maeda was being held, every time the hat man stopped in his tracks, turned to face the camera, pulled his hat down a little and then he was gone.

 

“Natsume, you will find out if someone among our enemies knows something about the hat man, anything. Make it a quick job, in and out, make sure not to leave traces or lose strings. Go get ready, Kirishima will send you the list of targets and useful information.”

 

Sayuri bowed and left the office, this new mission promised to be more entertaining than the previous one.

 

***

 

Sudou paced on his room waiting anxiously, only a day had passed but he had everything ready for his strike, that photographer was about to receive what he deserved. The blond ex-manager just needed the all green confirmation to start his move, every minute was a torture, the wait was driving him crazy, he wanted Akihito to suffer immediately but he knew he needed to be patient if he wanted to have success.

 

His trail of thoughts was interrupted along with his pacing when his phone went off signaling a new text message, he opened it and his blue eyes shone with evil satisfaction. It was just a phrase but it was exactly what he wanted to know.

 

_“Little stray cat is home alone.”_

 

***

 

Akihito was bored to death, he had spent all day in the penthouse just as he had told Asami he would, and he had hated every single minute. Having all his day planned out previously only to be forced to change those plans completely and stay inside all day left him with no idea of what to do to kill the time, he had no work left to do, he had already cleaned the penthouse until it was all shiny and squeaking and the movies didn’t seemed too appealing, but he tried them anyway.

 

By dawn the third horror movie of the day was over and Akihito made his way to the kitchen to prepare himself another snack for the next movie, he put some water to boil and searched for the ingredients in the pantry when he heard the characteristic sound of the front door opening followed by footsteps.

 

“Asami, you are back early! Can I go out now? I’m dying of boredom here.”

 

The photographer waited for an answer that didn’t came, instead he heard the footsteps coming through the hall heading to the kitchen, he realized there were not one but two pair of footsteps.

 

“Kirishima is with you?”

 

Silence met him again, hearing the footsteps just reaching the kitchen door he turned to face his partner, but what he found was not what he waited for. Two men dressed in black and ski masks covering their faces were standing there, guns on their belts and their deadly eyes piercing through Akihito’s soul.

 

Akihito’s mind raced and his heart skipped some beats, the photographer launched himself to the stove as the men came closer, Akihito grabbed the cocking pot with boiling water and threw the liquid to one of the attackers face and then hit the other one with the pot right in the head with all the strength he could.

 

And he ran, at first he thought of getting out of the apartment but he didn’t know if those men were alone, they might have more people outside guarding the entrance and that would mean his certain capture, so with that in mind he decided for his second option: the secret room, if he was fast enough he could get in without the attackers noticing and there he could contact Asami asking for help. But that didn’t happen, just a few meters after leaving the kitchen and turned to the hall he was tackled down.

 

It was chaotic, he two men tried to grab him but Akihito trashed and kicked in an attempt to push them away, finally he saw an opening and slipped out of their reach and into the living room but they were right behind him, he felt strong arms grab him from behind and before he could fight back he found himself flying in the air and landed on the coffee table breaking it. Struggling to keep his breath and ignoring the pain in his back and left arm he stood as fast as he could and fought back again completely unaware of the blood dripping from his arm with every move, in the struggle they came close to the server counter where Akihito took the expensive whisky bottle resting there to smash it on one of the attackers head, the man fell to the floor unconscious.

 

Using the remains of the bottle as a weapon Akihito managed to keep up a decent fight with the remaining man, in a couple of minutes his attacker had some deep cuts in his arms and panted hardly but despite his obvious tiredness he prevented Akihito to run again. The blond was so focused on his current attacker that he missed to notice the other man regaining consciousness and launching himself to the photographer, they crashed hard and the blond was thrown to the steps that separated the living room from the dining room, his head hit hard one of the steps and Akihito blacked out for a couple of seconds.

 

His head was spinning and it hurted badly, disoriented he could feel how he was carried like a sack. Akihito made an effort to focus and tried to understand his situation, he noticed they were still in the penthouse just about to reach the genkan, he still had a chance. Propelling his feet up he connected a kick to the face of the man who was carrying him, unbalanced from the hit he had received Akihito fell to the ground with a loud thud. Again the photographer ignored the pain and ran as fast as he could through the hall leaving behind a series of curses from his attackers.

 

Still a little stunned Akihito was not sure he had heard correctly, one of the men gave instructions to the other one.

 

“Enough, he will come as a corpse.”

 

Running for his life Akihito saw Asami’s bedroom door, he was so close, he could make it, hope sparked in his soul but a bullet rain extinguished it. Yes, he had heard right, they were trying to kill him now. Luckily none of the bullets hit him but his chances to enter the bedroom where crashed, he ran again and he found himself back in the living room.

 

He heard one of the men enter the living room behind him and at the same time saw the other one entering from the other side in front of him, two guns aimed directly at him, he was cornered.

 

“Easy now kid, there is nowhere you can go now. The boss said to bring you alive if possible but we are allowed to kill you if you get troublesome. You have already pushed our limits, brat. Come quietly and you will live some more, if not your dead body will come along anyway, your choice.”

 

Akihito gulped, but he made the only choice he saw possible. He raised his arms and with a determined look in his eyes said his answer.

 

“Fine, I’ll go with you.”

 

The man in front of him stayed in his spot, Akihito didn’t move either until he felt a strong hand grab him from the back of his shirt. In a fast smooth movement Akihito got free from the man’s hold and connected a powerful kick to his stomach placing the man between him and the other one, now the other man couldn't shot without risking shooting his partner.

 

Taking advantage of his new position, Akihito fought his attacker with all his might successfully knocking him out after a powerful punch to his jaw. One out, one to go.

 

But that other one had different plans, before Akihito could realize it the remaining man pistol-whipped him. The floor spun, the whole room was moving below him while the disoriented blond stumbled, his manhandled body hit the floor again and he dragged himself backwards in an attempt to put some distance between him and his attacker.

 

Finally he felt his back hit something firm and cold, he had reached the balcony glass door. Akihito was unable to focus his sight properly, his head was throbbing and all he could see was blurred. There between the shadowy figures upon his eyes he distinguished his attacker, slowly the man came closer and crouched in front of him, Akihito saw the blurry figure of what could only be a gun pointing directly to his head, with the last strength he was able to summon Akihito was able to grab the man’s arm and struggled to made that gun aim away from him.

 

***

 

Asami got out of the limo and said good night to Kirishima, he was tired, he had worked nonstop all day but there was nothing more he could do until Natsume’s new findings were reported so he went home earlier than expected. The crime lord rubbed his temples as the elevator transported him to his floor, a hot bath, Akihito’s dinner and a good night sleep next to his kitten was exactly what he needed. The doors opened and Asami put one foot out of the elevator, he realized he hadn’t seen the guards he had left in the building entrance, and then he heard it.

 

Bang.

 

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot… and it came from his home. Tiredness forgotten, Asami took out his phone and while heading to the door of his penthouse dialed Kirishima, four words left his mouth _‘Gunshot inside, penthouse compromised’_ and he hanged up unholstering his gun.

 

The door was open, gun up Asami entered his home and the first sight made his blood boil, there in the genkan and all the way up through the hall were blood stains everywhere. Asami followed the hall and heard pained whimpers; the crime lord followed the sound and entered the living room, it was destroyed, the coffee table was broken, the couch was upside down, an unconscious man dressed in black was on the floor and blood spattered in every surface.

 

But what caught his attention was the source of the sounds, in the back against the balcony door was Akihito, lying in the ground holding his left ear while whimpering in pain, another man dressed in black in front of him with a gun in his hand aiming at the boy and a bullet incrusted in the bulletproof glass behind them.

 

Rage invaded him, without thinking twice he ran towards them and shot the man in the head once, then he kept shooting the corpse until his gun was empty.

 

Asami took a deep breath to try to calm himself before shifting his attention to Akihito, the photographer flinched away when he touched his shoulder, blue eyes wide open roamed the sight in front of them in an attempt to focus and distinguish the new figure while he kicked and trashed trying to get away from the danger. Asami noticed the blond couldn’t recognize him, the crime lord grabbed the boy and forced him to a sitting position, his golden eyes staring directly at panicked blue ones.

 

“Akihito!”

 

He heard that voice in the distance, he knew that baritone voice very well. Akihito stopped struggling and forced his eyes to focus on the blurry image in front of him, slowly the image cleared and Akihito found himself staring at golden eyes.

 

“A-asa…mi…”

 

And the image blurred again, but this time not because of his dizziness but because of the tears flowing from his eyes.

 

The crime lord looked at the sobbing boy in front of him, he had a pair of bloody wounds in his head, a bleeding left ear, various bruises and a deep long cut on his left forearm bleeding heavily. Asami embraced the blond young man and held him tight against his chest and spoke soothing words to the photographer, to reassure Akihito or himself he was not sure, maybe both.

 

The sound of heavy footsteps drove him out of the trance and Asami raised his gun at the new threat, he lowered it when Kirishima entered with his own gun ready. The secretary started barking orders through a radio while taking away the gun from the still unconscious attacker.

 

Asami turned back his attention to Akihito, suddenly Kojiro’s warning pooped in his head _‘protect your home’_ Despite the warning he had underestimated his enemies, again. Asami held Akihito tighter, careful not to harm him more while the sobbing boy kept trembling in his arms.

 

TBC.


	16. Idiots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Akihito was attacked on the penthouse Asami decides to start new actions in an attempt to keep his kitten safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> And I’m back with a new chapter!!! It took me a little longer to write it that I had planned but I had an emotional breakdown last week so I spent my days like a zombified me surviving with books, otome games and lots of chocolate. Fortunately the crisis is over and I’m back with extra power, extra inspiration, lots of ideas and more chocolate (I can never have enough of that). 
> 
> Also… I did it again, almost 4,000 words in this one, I hope you enjoy this chapter!!! Thank you so much for your support, all the comments and kudos, I’m really happy about them, love you all.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so mistakes might be a common occurrence, feel free to point them out and I’ll do something about them.
> 
> Please enjoy and please do comment, I read all of your comments and try to respond to them as soon as I can, they make me really happy and are a powerful encouragement to keep writing my crazy ideas.
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 16. IDIOTS.**

 

They stayed in the same position for a while, completely ignoring the chaotic scene that was playing around them. A number of guards searched through the entire penthouse for hidden enemies but there were none, Kirishima barked orders to some guards while Suoh instructed others to take the captured attacker to one of their warehouses.

 

Asami paid no attention to any of that, all he was concerned about was the trembling blond in his arms, he held him tight against his chest, rubbing circles with one of his hands in the photographers back while he buried his nose in the mop of blond hair. He noticed the sobs began to subside until finally they disappeared leaving behind occasional hiccups and the nonstop trembling.

 

The crime lord kept their positions until his attention turned to Kirishima who was standing by his side, Asami raised his head and looked at his secretary’s eyes.

 

“Sir, Hayashi-sensei is on her way.”

 

“Tell her to go straight to Sion. We are leaving, prepare everything.”

 

Kirishima nodded and took his phone again after barking more orders to the guards. Asami returned his attention to Akihito, stopped the rubbing motion and whispered a quiet “Let’s go” to his ear before scooping his trembling body in his arms. Akihito didn’t argue, he didn’t say a word; the photographer just put his arms around Asami’s neck and buried his face in the crime lord’s shoulder.

 

***

 

She was out of breath by the time she arrived at the apartment. When she had received the call she was sound asleep in her bed, then Sudou had called and everything went to hell, she stormed out of her apartment and drove to his boss home.

 

She didn’t bother to knock; she took her key out and opened the door. The man was already awake, a Dunhill between his lips.

 

“Sir, Sudou Shu failed. One of his men is dead and the other was captured, the men had the instructions to capture him alive if possible and bring the boy to Sudou. The photographer is still alive.”

 

The man released a puff of gray smoke.

 

“That idiot. Retrieve the captured man, if he is linked to him then that can lead them to us.”

 

The woman bowed and opened her phone, a lot of call needed to be done. The man turned his attention to his window while playing with the cigarette in his hand. Deep in thoughts his mind was racing, calculating every possibility, he released another large puff.

 

“Such an idiot.”

 

***

 

She was out of breath by the time she arrived at Sion. When she had received the call she was leaving a konbini with a bag full of sweets, Sayuri had finished her mission half an hour ago and she decided to buy something as an apology to Akihito for making him stay in the penthouse alone all day. Then Kirishima had called and she ran half Tokyo at top speed still clutching the konbini bag in her hand.

 

Sayuri stormed in the building and waited anxiously for the elevator, then ran towards the door she knew the photographer was behind. She stopped in front of it to catch her breath and knocked, a simple “get in” was her signal to open the door.

 

Asami’s private rest room was the biggest of Sion, there were 10 more rest rooms in the building distributed in two floors that were for the guards to use, each room had 3 to 4 bunk beds and a small bathroom. Asami’s was a different matter; it had a small living room with a couple of sofas and a café table and in the back another room with a kind size bed, a closet and a large bathroom.

 

Asami, Kirishima and Suoh were sitting in the sofas, a serious expression on their faces, but what caught Sayuri’s attention was what could be seen through the open door of the bedroom behind them, there was the king size bed with a sleeping Akihito curled in it.

 

Asami put his half smoked Dunhill in the ash tray and looked at the girl’s worried expression, definitely his kitten had grown in her. The crime lord ignored the bag in her hand and the small scratches in her arms and focused his sight in her eyes, there he could see all the emotions that passed through the young woman’s mind but what he could see the most was worry, anger and guilt. Kirishima seemed to notice the same so he broke the silence.

 

“Takaba-kun will be fine, Hayashi-sensei left a couple of minutes ago. He’s got a concussion, twenty stiches in his left forearm and some bruises. The worst is the damage to his hearing, a gun was activated next to his left ear so he has a loss of hearing in that ear, luckily Hayashi-sensei said it’s only temporary. He was given some painkillers so he won’t wake up in a couple of hours.”

 

Sayuri sighed in relieve, her heartbeat slowing down to a normal pace. But her face didn’t change much, the worry was gone but the anger and guilt stayed in place.

 

“May I ask what happened? He was in the penthouse; he was supposed to be safe.”

 

Kirishima sighed, clearly annoyed for the circumstances.

 

“We still don’t know how but they got hold of the penthouse keys, they entered walking through the main door.”

 

Her eyes went wide, nobody could had expect that to happen. But it was a logic thing to do, the penthouse was a fortress with bullet proof windows, high tech security system and surveillance. The only way to enter was with the keys.

 

“The guards that were meant to watch the building had access to them!”

 

This time was Suoh who sighed and raised his head.

 

“We found them behind the main desk, gunshot to the head, execution stile. They reported every hour directly to me, apparently they were ambushed just after their last report and shot dead just a couple of minutes later.”

 

Her heart skipped a beat, that meant just one possible thing: the mole was a big one. They had access to the guard’s schedules and plans with enough detail to know when they had to report and ambush them just after to guarantee an hour without interruptions, but the worst was they had managed to enter using the keys, very few people had the keys of the penthouse. Beside Asami and Akihito, only Kirishima and Suoh had them, not even Sayuri had a copy, the only times guards were given the keys was when they were on duty guarding Akihito and were only to use in emergency cases. To get hold of them was a very difficult and dangerous thing to manage.

 

She sat next to Suoh in a sofa and looked at Asami, golden eyes shone in anger, an evil aura flooding the room while the crime lord planned the way to make hell burn. They didn’t noticed Suoh’s phone when it went off until the man spoke again.

 

“Asami-sama, the team we had to take the captured man to warehouse 2 was attacked. Half of the team is dead and the man is gone.”

 

None of them thought it was possible for Asami to become angrier but he did, he let out a low growl-like sound, the aura surrounding him became deadlier and he looked like he would burst in fire any time soon.

 

Without a word the crime lord got up and walked to the bedroom where Akihito laid, closing the door behind him. He crossed the distance to the bed and sat by his side. Akihito was lost in the sleep realm induced by the painkillers he was given. A bandage covered the wounds on his head that luckily hadn’t required stitches, one of his cheeks had a bluish bruise and he looked beyond exhausted, pale and restless.

 

Asami caressed the side of the photographers face with his fingers while he put his other hand above his chest, he stood still for a while, feeling the boy’s chest rise and fall, he was breathing, he was alive. The crime lord bended down until his face was next to Akihito’s and whispered to his ear.

 

“I will find who is responsible for this and make them pay, I’ll keep you safe.”

 

Asami placed a soft kiss to the photographer’s lips before standing; he covered Akihito with an extra blanket and exited the room.

 

As soon as he closed the door of the bedroom behind him he looked at his most trusted personnel at the eyes. I aura was still deadly and the anger was almost visible emanating from his pores but his golden eyes held determination.

 

“Sayuri, you stay with him until we are back, don’t leave his side by any circumstances. Kirishima, Suoh, with me.”

 

The young woman bowed low as the three men left the room. Asami leaded the way to his office with his secretary and chief of security behind him.

 

“Kirishima, prepare a safehouse, we will take Akihito there. Suoh, I want a report of the ambush and everything you can gather about the man who escaped.”

 

Both men nodded at the same time, his boss was not the only one who wanted to capture those bastards.

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

***

 

His head was killing him, the throbbing pain was unbearable. He tried to move his arm and noticed his head was not the only part of his body that tried to end his live in nonstop pain, every muscle he had ached and protested at every move, even breathing was painful.

 

Slowly he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a ceiling he was not familiar with. Fear ran through his veins as the thought of been captured but after a few seconds he realized he had seen that ceiling before. Memories rushed back and he finally relaxed against the mattress, he was at Sion, Asami had saved him, he was safe. But where was Asami?

 

After a few deep breaths Akihito started to raise himself in his elbows, releasing some pained sounds in the process. At the same time the photographer roamed the room with his sight in, searching the man he wanted to see the most but he couldn’t find him. Instead, in the back of the room was a young woman in a chair engrossed in a book. Sayuri raised her head at Akihito’s pained sounds and immediately was by his side.

 

“Please don’t move, Akihito-san. Rest some more.”

 

Akihito didn’t listened to her advice and continued his efforts to bring himself to a sitting position, he felt gentle hands help him up and then rub circles in his back when he finally was done. The room was spinning and his head felt like exploding but he tried to pay no attention to it.

 

“Where is Asami?”

 

“He is with Kirishima-san and Suoh-san. He was forced to leave your side to attend an urgent matter regarding this situation, they left a couple of hours ago but trust me Akihito-san, he didn’t wanted to leave you.”

 

Akihito smiled softly to the girl, she had read him perfectly.

 

“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

 

“I’m perfectly fine. My head is killing me, everything hurts, the room spins like crazy and I hear nothing with my left ear.”

 

“Yeah… you have a concussion so you will be dizzy and confused for a while. Please lie down and rest some more, I will bring you some water.”

 

But Akihito again ignored her advice, while the girl moved through the room to give his a glass of water he observed the room in an attempt to focus his fuzzy mind. He could see a couple of nightstands at each side of the bed, a closet, a door that lead to what he assumed was a bathroom and a chair right next to the entrance door where Sayuri was a couple of minutes ago. And there in the floor next to the chair a white plastic bag caught his attention. He took the glass Sayuri offered him and after drinking it all its content he signaled the bag.

 

“What’s in there?”

 

“Oh! I forgot about that for a moment. Here, it’s for you.”

 

Sayuri picked the bag and gave it to him, the photographer opened it and found a number of sweets  and a couple of pocky boxes inside, when he returned his gaze back to the girl he saw her with her head low while rubbing her hands anxiously, her eyes suddenly finding the carpet fascinating.

 

“I’m truly sorry, Akihito-san. The only reason you got hurt was because I left you alone, if I had stayed with you and done my assignment later then none of this would had happened.”

 

“Or you could have ended dead like the other guards. This was not your fault, not even Asami’s.”

 

Akihito put his hand over hers in reassurance; Sayuri looked up and found no traces of anger or blame on his eyes, just kindness. The girl smiled softly at him but before any of them could say another word the door opened and Asami, Kirishima and Suoh entered the room.

 

Seeing his kitten awake and up, Asami made his way directly to his side and planted a soft quick kiss on the boy’s lips. Ignoring the blush and the small protests from the photographer Asami ruffled his hair.

 

“It’s good to see you up. Get ready, the safehouse is prepared. We are leaving.”

 

***

 

The woman closed her phone and looked at her boss eyes. The man had smoked nonstop since before her arrival a couple of hours ago and made no signals of wanting to stop in a nearby future.

 

“Sir, the team just reported. Sudou’s man was retrieved without problems.”

 

“Fine, get rid of him. Now, with that idiot taken care of, tell me what is the state of the penthouse?”

 

The woman looked at the man with quizzed eyes, why was that relevant?.

 

“E-excuse me, sir?”

 

“The state of the penthouse, my love. Maybe there is something that we can use.”

 

The woman understood what her boss meant, immediately took out her tablet and dived into all of her files.

 

***

 

“Broken coffee table, stained couch, glasses and bottles shattered, walls from the hall and the living room with bullet holes, several electronics damaged and broken balcony glass door.”

 

Asami released a puff of his newly lighted Dunhill after hearing Kirishima’s report of the damage that received the penthouse. They had arrived at the safehouse some minutes ago and while Sayuri helped Akihito to settle himself in his room Asami was sitting behind a desk in an office while Kirishima and Suoh stood in front of them.

 

Asami couldn’t help to release a chuckle; all that damage was nothing but the proof of how hard his kitten fought. It was obvious the attackers had underestimated the photographer and their job turned way more difficult, Asami could only feel proud of Akihito and his strength.

 

“Replace the furniture and electronics, I want an upgraded lock for the door, cameras outside the penthouse in halls, windows, elevator and doors and replace the glass door of the balcony, check every other window for damages, I don’t want them to weaken because we missed something, every single of them needs to be absolutely bulletproof.”

 

Kirishima sent the orders with his own tablet, just as he was over the door opened and Sayuri entered the room. Asami looked at her in the eyes while he put his unfinished cigarette in the ash tray, he didn’t need to ask a thing, she already knew his question.

 

“Akihito san is settled, I told him to rest but I don’t think he is going to listen to me.”

 

The crime lord nodded lightly and signaled her to come closer.

 

“Did you finish your mission?”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

Sayuri handed him a usb flash drive. Asami took it and immediately put it his suit pocket, they would see through it later with more detail. He had more urgent matters to attend.

 

“Good. Stay with Akihito, he is not to leave this safehouse.”

 

Sayuri nodded but her eyes went wide in worry when the next she heard was the three men discussing how they would organize everything for Akihito to stay in the safehouse for an undefined amount of time that could even be months. The photographer was to be kept in the safehouse with no contact with the exterior, he was going to be given “entertainment supplies” like videogames and movies but no human contact outside Asami and his men until Hattie was captured.

 

The young woman’s mind raced, Hattie was far from been captured, they even didn’t had any idea of his identity so his capture could take a couple of months. Akihito would not stand that long in those conditions. If she had learned something about the photographer since she was assigned to be his shadow was that Akihito couldn’t be far from his loved ones: friends, family, his job. To lock him in a house completely isolated would be like denying a flower the sun light, he would lose his strength, his light would fade and finally he would break.

 

And here they were, those three men including the one that was supposed to keep him from any harm planning the reclusion of a free spirit like it was the most logical thing in the world. Why they didn’t notice that was not the solution? Sayuri understood Asami was worried about Akihito but why he acted like he didn’t know him? Why Kirishima, the most logical man in earth, agreed to the plan and even encouraged it? How could they not see?

 

And suddenly she was not worried anymore, a violent rage invaded her mind and before she knew what she was doing her mouth blurted what her soul was screaming.

 

“What the hell are you thinking about?!!! That’s not a solution!!! That would harm Akihito-san more than a bullet rain from Hattie!!! You know Akihito-san, he would break without his friends or family!!! Why are you even considering such a stupid thing!!! YOU BUNCH OF IDIOTS!!!”

 

Kirishima and Suoh froze, it was the first time they had heard Sayuri talk back to them in many years, usually the girl accepted their orders without any fuss but they just heard her explode against them and even called them idiots, well, not called but shouted. To the three of them, Asami included. That could not be good.

 

Before any of them could say something to her they saw the exact moment she realized what she just did, her expression changed from deadly anger to total mortification in a matter of seconds, her panicked eyes glued to the floor and her face the deepest shade of red they had seen on her she bowed in a perfect 90° angle.

 

“I…I…I’m so s-sorry!!! I have no excuse!!! I… I… I… sorry, sorry, sorry… p-please e-excuse me…”

 

And then she was gone, Kirishima was dumbfounded staring at the closed door where the girl had left in a rush with her head low and still mortified expression. The secretary looked back to Suoh and his boss, expecting to find the doors of hell but was surprised when he didn’t. Suoh was barely containing a laugh and Asami just stared at the door with an amused grin.

 

***

 

She closed the door behind her, she needed to hurry if she wanted to made it on time. The plan was settled. Sudou’s failure had had a good result in the end, now if she managed to play her part they could get rid of Asami Ryuichi in no time. They would never see it coming.

 

The woman drove back to her own apartment to get ready for the day, her mission repeating over and over in her mind. Fear was finally leaving her body, when her boss told her the new plan she couldn’t help but take a few steps back in fear. She would never forget the look of the man’s eyes and the crazy wide grin in his face that accompanied his maniac laugh, just the memory made her shiver.

 

***

 

Akihito was pacing slowly in his room, he was told to rest some more but the photographer found he couldn’t. His dizziness had faded to a bearable amount and the world spun slower than before so despite his still aching head he decided to figure out what he could do in the situation they were at the moment.

 

Suddenly his door opened and Kirishima entered the room, the secretary was surprised to find him walking, he expected Akihito to be sound asleep so he didn’t bother to knock the door. Kirishima left a tray with fruit and tea on the nightstand and faced the blond man.

 

“I brought you something light to eat and some tea, please get some more rest, you will need your strength.”

 

Akihito raised an eyebrow, his strength? What was that supposed to mean? Why would he need it if he was locked in the safehouse?

 

“That means I can go out if I want to?”

 

“No while you are staying here. You will return to the penthouse when the reparations are done and it’s safe again.”

 

That left Akihito gaping like a fish at the secretary.

 

“Really? I thought that perverted bastard was going to chain me to this bed and keep me here for eternity.”

 

Kirishima pushed his glasses up and looked at Akihito in the eyes, his never ending serious expression firmly settled as he remembered the last minutes in the office.

 

“That was the original plan minus the chains but Asami-sama changed his mind. You can thank Natsume-san for that.”

 

Akihito was surprised, that was far from expected. The secretary sensing the boy’s confusion decided to explain further enough to keep Akihito at bay.

 

“She got angry at us when she heard the plan and… explained to us why it was not a good one for your mental health.”

 

Kirishima bowed lightly and made his way towards the door to exit the room but was stopped by Akihito’s words again.

 

“She got angry? Is she even able to do that?”

 

Akihito tried to imagine the situation but he couldn’t, a professional assassin/bookworm had to have a cool head, right? Kirishima turned slightly and looked Akihito at the eyes again, but this time his expression was one Akihito could not decipher.

 

“She yelled at us. She called us ‘ _bunch of idiots’_.”

 

The secretary returned his sight to the door and left the room, Akihito followed him with the intention to ask for more details and poked his head out in time to see a completely flushed Sayuri bowing low as Kirishima passed next to her in the hall just in front of his door.

 

Once Kirishima was gone the girl returned to a straight position but her face stayed completely red. Slowly he focused her gaze to the door and jumped in surprise when she saw a grinning Akihito watching her from there.

 

They stared at each other eyes, Sayuri’s face turned redder every second and Akihito’s grin grew wider. That continued for a while until Akihito spoke.

 

“Soooo…. A bunch of idiots?”

 

He didn’t knew it was possible but the girl’s face became a darker shade of red while she turned her head to the side, refusing to look at him. Akihito couldn’t stop the laugh that left his throat; he pushed the door of his room completely open signaling Sayuri to come in.

 

“Want some pocky?”

 

TBC.


	17. Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami keeps himself busy trying to figure out who is threatening his kitten while Akihito stays in the safehouse recovering from his injuries but he might find his injuries are not only physical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> It’s a miracle!!! The chapter is up in time, something that I hadn’t been able to do since I started this, it’s such an uncommon occurrence that maybe it means the apocalypse is near and I shouldn’t be so happy about it? Did I just cause the end of the world? Well, there is nothing I can do about that!!!
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and when I say a lot I mean A LOT. It’s my first time writing a nightmare and I found it really challenging but at the same time really interesting, does it make sense? I also like reading the sexy times between Aki and Asami but every time I try to write one my brain melts, I just don’t have a clue on how to do it right but ironically I have a lot of fun trying to, ha. This chapter is actually half of what I had planned but it got so long that I decided to cut it in two so it’s going to be next chapter when we find out what the bad guys are planning next. Hope you like it!!!
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so mistakes might be a common occurrence, feel free to point them out and I’ll do something about them.
> 
> Please enjoy and please do comment, I read all of your comments and try to respond to them as soon as I can, they make me really happy and are a powerful encouragement to keep writing my crazy ideas.
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 17. DARKNESS.**

He was tired, since the attack at the penthouse the night before he hadn’t been able to rest and the day had proven hard on him, the only thing that seemed to calm him was the knowledge of his kitten sleeping safely. Asami sighed as he walked through the halls of the safehouse towards the room Akihito was in, there was no way he was going to leave him alone at night after being away the whole day.

 

As he reached the hall that leaded to Akihito’s room the first thing Asami saw was a human shaped shadow in the floor, the crime lord kept walking and the shadow turned their face to him and stood with light speed, dropping an open book to the floor, Sayuri bowed in a perfect 90° angle and kept her sight in the floor, despite the dim light of the hall Asami could see the redness in her face that went all the way to her ears.

 

And he did the only thing that he could do at the sight: he smirked, a chuckle leaving his throat as he entered the room.

 

The room was dark but he distinguished the bundle in the bed immediately, Akihito was buried in a mess of sheets and blankets, a mop of blond hair the only thing visible out of there. Asami removed his clothes and got closer to the bed, slowly and with great care to not wake the sleeping boy, Asami detangled the mess of blankets and joined the photographer under the covers. Akihito was on his side, curled in a tight ball as to protect himself from the outside, Asami wrapped his arms around his waist in a tight embrace, pressing Akihito’s back to his chest.

 

Feeling the familiar warmth in his back and strong arms around his waist Akihito relaxed completely, the photographer let go of his protective ball and turned so he could bury his face in a strong chest and tangle his own arms around the crime lord’s body. He kept his eyes closed, his voice muffled by the crime lords skin against his lips.

 

“Welcome back.”

 

“I’m home.”

 

“Don’t whisper, I can’t hear you with just one ear.”

 

But Asami didn’t repeat his words, the only response Akihito got was a soft hum and tighter embrace. They stayed like that for some time, just enjoying each other’s warmth and company. Some minutes later Akihito thought Asami had fallen asleep but then he felt them, large fingers softly touched his skin, they gently brushed over his numerous bruises and visible wounds. Even though the touch was so soft and gentle Akihito felt the hot trail they left, the electricity travelling through his body sparkled by the affection. Suddenly the finger that was brushing against his cheek stopped and a big hand took his chin and forced him to look up.

 

And he saw gold, deep and mesmerizing gold.

 

Akihito got lost in that golden sea surprised by the mix of concern and relieve he saw in there. It was like his body moved on his own, before his mind was able to process anything Akihito softly pressed his lips against Asami’s, less than a second later the crime lord deepened the kiss. The couple kept kissing, neither of them willing to lose the contact between them but without the usual desire and lust, it was gentle and full of emotions. Finally it was Akihito who pulled back, the photographer buried his face against Asami’s chest again, careful for his words to not get muffled this time.

 

“It was not your fault.”

 

Strong arms tightened their embrace and he felt Asami’s face buried against his head, it felt right, it felt safe. Finally both men allowed themselves to fully relax and soon they drifted to a dreamless sleep in each other arms.

 

***

 

Morning came too fast. Asami found himself with Akihito still wrapped against him but the day had begun and he needed to tend to his business so the crime lord got up and left to Sion, leaving a sleeping Akihito behind.

 

As always Kirishima was already waiting for him with the limo, despite the last events he had to deal with his normal business if he wanted his company to stay on the top so Asami had to tend to numerous boring meetings before he could focus his attention back to Akihito’s attackers.

 

Feeling an unusual urge inside him the crime lord made all his meeting quickly, giving solutions and agreements fast but smart. Finally all he needed to check was done and by midday he was able to summon his secretary and chief of security in his office.

 

“Yesterday’s ambush was fast and well planned, according to the survivors they were surrounded by three large black vans in an empty avenue and opened heavy fire, in the crossfire we lost half of the team and the captured attacker was rescued by his accomplices, none of the attackers was retrieved or killed. They… are good, Sir.”

 

Asami felt the tension build up in his body, but not only tension, a mix of anger and revenge ran through his veins, wishing for the ones behind the whole thing to be in his hands to end their lives. The crime lord stood from his chair and poured himself a tumbler of whisky.

 

“What about Sayuri’s findings?”

 

This time was Suoh who stepped forward to hand his boss a file.

 

“Her findings are quite alarming, Sir. She was able to confirm two groups that had contact with the hat man and apparently are working under his orders. The groups are the Kubo family and the Minegishi-gumi.”

 

The grip to the glass in his hand tightened, those were bad news. The Kubo family was a medium size group that handled weapons and drugs but they were weak on their own, the Minegishi-gumi on the other hand was another story, specialized in human traffic the Minegishi-gumi was large and had on their control a bunch of small but dangerous groups. And were one of the main enemies of Asami, the group wanted to increase their traffic market using Asami’s smuggling routes, a little war had taken place some years ago but despite Asami’s victory the Minegishi-gumi didn’t gave up, they made alliances and deals to improve their strength and were waiting the perfect time to try one more time.

 

The crime lord drank some of the liquid in the glass, deep in thought about their next move, they needed to be careful, there was a lot in risk: his routes, his alliances, Sion and the most important, Akihito.

 

“Is the penthouse ready?”

 

“No, Sir. The damage was larger than expected but it’s going to be ready the day after tomorrow, the security system has been improved and I personally am checking all the safety details.”

 

  Asami nodded to his secretary, there was no other man he could trust with that task.

 

***

 

It was dawn when Asami returned to the safehouse, the whole day he found himself thinking about the photographer so he actually had passed some of his meeting for the next day to come back early.

 

The sound of music got to his ears as soon as he opened the main door, it came from the kitchen. As he made his way in that direction a delicious smell flooded the safehouse and more sounds were added to the music, a soft feminine voice, Akihito’s unmistakable one and some occasional laughter from the photographer. When Asami entered the kitchen he saw both Akihito and Sayuri wearing aprons, the blond focused on something in the stove and the girl slicing some vegetables, he cleared his throat and got their attention.

 

“Welcome back! You are early, dinner is not finished yet.”

 

Akihito approached him and their lips met each other in a sweet breathtaking kiss, the crime lord placed his hands behind the photographer’s back and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss even further. They pulled away only because the need of oxygen was greater than their need for each other, Asami saw with a smirk how his kitten panted and his blue eyes were dark with want.

 

“I…. will take my leave now. Good night Asami-sama, Akihito-san.”

 

Oh, right, they forgot she was there. Both turned their faces to the side and saw a red faced Sayuri bowing and before any of them could say a word she was gone. Now without public Asami pulled Akihito to another kiss, the blond was lost in the warmth of his partner when he felt strong hands pulling his shirt up.

 

“W-what are you doing?”

 

“Checking your wounds. How is you ear?”

 

Akihito found it hard to answer, not because he didn’t know the answer but because it was hard to focus with those hands roaming all over his body. Asami leaned in the counter behind him and turned Akihito so his back was against his chest, the crime lord’s hands resumed their inspection until one of then came across a nipple and pinched it.

 

“I-I still…ahh… can’t hear…b-but… t-there’s a…ahh... buzz.”

 

Soft moans left Akihito’s mouth between words, the hands in his body felt so good his mind was clouded and his body reacted on its own. Asami bit his ear while one hand played with Akihito’s nipples and the other went down to pull the boy’s pants down.

 

“Forget dinner.”

 

Shivers ran down his spine as that baritone voice whispered in his good ear and a warm hand touched his member. The next thing he knew he was on his bedroom clutching the bed sheets in his hands with a very naked Asami on top of him.

 

***

 

_Everything was dark, he couldn’t even see his hands in front of him but he needed to run, something was chasing him, he couldn’t see it and didn’t know what it was but he could feel it, deep inside him was that strong feeling, he needed to run. So he ran._

_His legs hurted, he had run for hours but that thing was still chasing him and he had no idea where he was running to, suddenly in the middle of that sea of darkness a figure appeared at the distance, he knew that figure, he could recognize it miles away, it was Asami. Dressed in his perfect three piece suit he was just standing there, looking at him._

_Akihito ran as fast as he could to get to him but he couldn’t reach him, no matter how hard he tried or how much he speeded Asami wasn’t getting any closer, in fact, he was further away even when the black haired man wasn’t moving at all. Anxiety clutched his chest, his heart raced in desperation, he tried to call him but no sound left his throat. Asami was disappearing and just when he was a tiny spot in the distance Akihito found his voice._

_“ASAMI!!!!!”_

_He opened his eyes and saw him in front of him, just a couple of meters away, and he panicked. Blood dripped heavily from the bullet holes that covered his body under his suit. And Asami wasn’t moving; he stood there and watched him in silence, Akihito felt his heart stop as he stared at the black bloody mark in his partner’s forehead just above those golden eyes that were piercing his soul._

_The photographer took some steps forward and raised his hand in an attempt to reach him but stopped a couple of centimeters away. His own hand was covered in blood too._

_Suddenly the urge to run came back but before he could move a loud bang sounded in his ears and his raised hand now had a black hole in it. Another bang and he felt a burning pain in his side, another bang and he was on his knees, another bang and his ear was on fire._

_He lost count how many bangs he heard and how many pain he had felt in all his body, by the time it came to an end he was lying in a puddle of red liquid. His sight was blurry but he could see those golden eyes still staring at him, he felt cold, he felt pain but what he felt the most was emptiness. Why was he there? Why was Asami there? Why Asami had done nothing? Why he had ended like that? Why?_

_“…hito.”_

_What was that? It was far but he had heard it, he couldn’t distinguish what the voice said._

_“…kihito.”_

_Suddenly he felt calm, he knew that voice._

_“Akihito.”_

_It was the voice he wanted to hear the most and it was calling him, but where did it came from? He needed to go, he needed to find him._

 

***

 

Asami felt a kick to his side and his eyes flew open, he sat as fast as he could and grabbed the gun in the night stand next to him but after a look to his surroundings he found no enemy. The crime lord thought it had been part of a dream and put the gun back to its place but he felt another movement beside him.

 

Akihito was trashing in his sleep, his eyes shut closed and breathing heavily. His kitten was a having a very bad nightmare. Asami heard how the photographer mumbled something unintelligible as he kept trashing, his voice low but with a pitch of panic in it, finally an understandable word left his lips over and over, _Asami_.

 

The crime lord snapped and carefully shook the photographer’s shoulder, softly calling his name.

 

“Akihito.”

 

No response. He tried again.

 

“Akihito.”

 

The trashing slowed down but his kitten was still asleep. Again.

 

“Akihito.”

 

Blue eyes flew open, the photographer gasped and tried to catch his breath while he tried to figure out where he was. His eyes were clouded and everything looked blurry, he could see those golden eyes staring at him but this time it was different, they weren’t blank and cold, this time concern was written all over them.

 

“A-asami…”

 

Tears ran free as he slowly came back to himself, he was sweating and trembling violently, breathing was hard, there seemed to be no sufficient oxygen for him in the room as he remembered his nightmare, that deep darkness that had consumed him. Strong arms pulled him out his trance as they pulled him closer in an embrace. His muscles tensed.

 

“It was just a nightmare, you are safe here.”

 

Akihito buried his face in that skin he knew so well, his muscles relaxed but the trembling kept going as he cried his eyes out in that strong chest. Asami rubbed circles in his back in a soothing motion and whispered reassurances to the boy’s good ear until the crying stopped and the trembling subsided.

 

“Go back to sleep, we can talk in the morning. You are safe here.”

 

The photographer nodded but stayed in the same position, Asami didn’t make any sign of moving so they just stayed like that. Akihito knew Asami was right, it had been a nightmare, Asami was right, they would talk the next day, there was a tomorrow for them, he was safe, Asami was safe.

 

He took a deep breath of his partner’s smell, expensive shampoo mixed with Dunhill and something he could only describe as Asami. It was soothing. Akihito let his body relax and enjoy the warmth, slowly his consciousness started to drift back to sleep with the sound of his partner’s heartbeat in his ear, darkness  engulfed him again but this time he was not afraid, he knew he was in the safest place he could think of.

 

He was in the arms of the man he loved.

 

TBC.


	18. Sniper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami and Akihito are back at the penthouse. Security is on top but they missed a detail and they find out about it the hard way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> And the impossible was possible one more time, the chapter is up on time again!!! I know, its so strange, I didn’t see this coming but here we are.
> 
> I think my favorite thing to write are the action parts, I always have so much fun with them. Some action awaits here, hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Once again let me remind you English is not my first language so mistakes might plague this story, feel free to point them out and I’ll exterminate them.
> 
> Please enjoy and please do comment, reading your comments always makes my day. Thank you so much for your support.
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 18. SNIPER.**

It was the last day they spent on the safehouse and Akihito was lying in the living room bored to death. Asami left early in the morning to Sion so Akihito was left alone with Sayuri all day, his arm hurt, the persistent buzz in his left ear was driving him crazy but the worst torture was he had nothing to do at all. The forgotten dinner of the night before was going to be his meal so he didn’t have to cook, there were no movies to watch and he didn’t have his laptop with him. So he spent the first hours of the day rolling in the living room thinking about something to do, anything was fine if it kept him busy, far away as possible from the memories of his nightmare.

 

When he thought the boredom was going to actually kill him Sayuri entered the living room with a bag on her shoulders. After the morning greeting she proceeded to open the bag and take out its contents. Blue eyes went wide and shone with excitement at the object in her hands.

 

A game console.

 

“I thought you needed something to do, hope this helps.”

 

The young woman walked to the television and connected all the cables of the console, a few minutes later everything was ready. She looked back to Akihito who kept silence all the time and was surprised to see a sparkly eyed photographer looking back at her with a smile on his face.

 

“You are my life saver!”

 

The guard was surprised by the sudden remark, she smiled back at the blond and laughed. Sayuri handed him the controls and spread a number of games for him to pick, after Akihito decided which one he wanted to play first he tapped the spot next to him, signaling the girl to sit there.

 

“Take the other control, you are part of my team.”

 

After a few rejections from the girl saying it was inappropriate Akihito resorted to make it an order so finally they sat in the floor, shoulder by shoulder, shooting zombies in an old factory.

 

“I noticed you don’t have bandages on your head today, Akihito-san.”

 

“Nah, there are just some bumps and scratches and the bandage is pretty uncomfortable.”

 

They continued with the game, Akihito was the leader and Sayuri protected him, their non said agreement functioned real well and soon enough here were no more zombies to kill and they arrived at the next safe zone. They kept playing and talking at the same time, their eyes never leaving the screen and the girl trying to get information of the state of his injuries, the photographer assured her his arm was not as painful that the day before and then she made the question he tried to avoid the most.

 

“How is your head? Have you been sleeping well?”

 

His heart raced, Asami had left in the early hours of the morning when the sun wasn’t even out yet leaving Akihito still asleep in bed, the photographer woke a couple of hours later after another nightmare but this time there was no Asami to hold to. How was he going to explain to her he had those dreams every time he closed his eyes? He hadn’t talk to Asami about them yet.

 

“My head is fine, it’s not hurting anymore. I-I sleep f-fine…”

 

He tried to sound convincing but he knew he had failed miserably, his voice trembled and his averted sight was not helping him. ‘ _Please don’t notice, please don’t notice’._ Sayuri put her control down and looked straight to him. ‘ _Oh, no. She noticed.’_

“You have nightmares, don’t you?”

 

His heart skipped a beat, ‘ _how does she know?’_ His brain raced to try and find something to change the topic but the girl was having none of it. Sayuri took Akihito’s control from his hands and placed it in the floor in front of him.

 

“Akihito-san, please look at me.”

 

Akihito kept his sight in the floor, he didn’t want to see her face. ‘ _She thinks I’m weak, she will treat me different now, she will not trust me anymore.’_ They stayed in the same position for a few minutes, Sayuri looking at him and Akihito looking at the floor. His hear kept beating like crazy in is chest as his vision was blurry; finally he took a deep breath and turned his face to look at her eyes expecting to see disappointment, even pity.

 

He saw none of that.

 

Her brown/green stared directly to his own blue eyes, he knew he could always decipher the girl’s emotions because they displayed through her eyes true to her heart and what he saw left him speechless. Conviction and strength were the only emotions he saw in her eyes.

 

He saw the girl raise her hand and felt her gently brushing away the tears that fell from his eyes, so that was why his vision was blurry, he hadn’t noticed he was crying.

 

“Akihito-san, you don’t have to tell me what they are about but I need you to know something.”

 

Her soft voice was gentle as always but it had a tone of decision in it. Akihito couldn’t find his voice, he was trapped in the depth of her eyes and his brain was functioning right, he gave a small nod to encourage the young woman to continue.

 

“Those nightmares might never go away but they don’t mean you are weak. You are strong and with time you will continue to have those dreams but they will be fewer and more apart. You have to believe in yourself, you are stronger than those nightmares, they can’t defeat you. Also, you have to know that you will always be safe, I will make my best to protect you and Asami-sama, even if it costs me my life. And if I die, there are others who will always be there for you. You will never be alone, so please don’t stop fighting, your strength not only serves you, it encourage others to continue. I cannot make the nightmares stop, but I promise you I will do my best to avoid new ones to come.”

 

New tears fell from his eyes and again the girl brushed them again with gentle fingers, Akihito felt his heart slow down to a normal pace and somehow his body felt lighter, he gave small nods and finally found his voice.

 

“Thank you…”

 

“You’re welcome, Akihito-san. I’ll make us some tea now.”

 

She smiled brightly at him and squeezed his hands with hers in reassurance. After a few seconds she stood and made her way out of the room. Akihito tried to process all she had told him, she was right, he was not going to be defeated by a nightmare, he had to overcome his fears and fight. Just as Sayuri was going through the door Akihito remembered something he wanted to know.

 

“How did you know I have nightmares?”

 

Sayuri stopped in her tracks and stared to the floor lowering her head, she seemed uneasy but after a few seconds she raised her head and looked at his eyes again. This time he didn’t see conviction, instead there was resignation, she gave him a sad smile and answered his question before she left the room.

 

“Because I have them too.”

 

***

 

His phone rang waking him from his thoughts, after a long drag from his Dunhill the man answered the call. A feminine voice he knew too well greeted him and shared the news he craved to have.

 

“Sir, they will return to the penthouse tomorrow morning. Everything is ready; as soon as they get there the plan will start.”

 

He released the cloud of smoke and smiled, the plan was easy but perfect. The fact that Asami and his secretary hadn’t noticed the little change they had done in the penthouse was indicative of a very possible success. They would never see it coming; Asami Ryuichi would be dead in his own house before he even had the chance to take a drink.

 

***

 

They were finally going back, Asami and Akihito were in the limo driven by Kirishima on their way back to the penthouse and the photographer was almost bouncing in his seat. The kingdom of eternal boredom was finally over and he was more than ecstatic to return to his cameras. Akihito was so excited he wasn’t paying attention to Asami and Kirishima’s conversation, until a word caught his attention.

 

“Are all the weapons where I ordered them?”

 

Weapons. Why would he order weapons? Where?

 

“Yes, Asami-sama. Everything is according to your specifications.”

 

Akihito stopped bouncing and turned to face his partner. Excitement forgotten his face revealed concern for what he could hear next.

 

“Wait, what weapons?”

 

“I ordered Kirishima to place a series of weapons hidden around the penthouse, they are just a precaution in case the last events repeat themselves, when we get there I’ll show you where they are so you can use them if needed.”

 

Akihito was dumbfounded, weapons all over the penthouse wasn’t exactly his definition of a precaution but what surprised him the most was the way Asami had told him about it as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

 

“Hell no! You don’t need more weapons there! And why would I want to know where they are? I don’t even know how to use them!”

 

“Kirishima, arrange shooting lessons for Akihito.”

 

“No! Don’t you dare follow that order, glasses.”

 

“At once, Asami-sama. I will have Natsume-san to teach him.”

 

“I said no!!! I will not learn how to use those things. And where is Sayuri, by the way?”

 

“She is already at the penthouse. And you will learn.”

 

They kept arguing the issue the rest of the trip, none of them willing to give up to the other, by the time they arrived at the penthouse Akihito was fuming, Asami smirked in amusement at his enraged kitten and Kirishima was in the verge of a massive headache.

 

***

 

The first thing the three men noticed the moment they opened the door was the sweet smell of tea. Sayuri was in the kitchen making herself busy with the preparation of the drink but as soon as she heard the door open was fast to go greet her boss, the secretary and the photographer.

 

The young woman returned to the kitchen followed by Akihito, she poured the tea in the cups and the photographer stated he was going to cook something quick for everyone. The girl took the teas in a tray and left to the living room with them after telling Akihito she would help him cook.

 

Placing the cups in the living room table, Sayuri made a recount of everyone’s position in the penthouse, an old habit of a paranoid guard and a strange feeling in her gut. Akihito was in the kitchen where she left him, Kirishima was in Asami’s study collecting some document and Asami was in the server counter pouring himself a tumbler of whisky. Everything seemed normal yet she couldn’t shake that strange feeling off.

 

She stood up and made her way back to the kitchen when she saw it, first with the corner of her eye and then perfectly after she turned her head. There, past the balcony in a distant building she saw a quick flash, like a mirror reflecting the sun light in their direction.

 

There was no time to think so she didn’t, dropping the tray she ran straight back to Asami, her legs hurt at the sudden pressure but all she could think about was to cover his body with hers, she needed to cover at least his head and chest, a thing she would only be able to do if she jumped, so she did.

 

The crime lord was startled by the sound of the tray crashing with the floor but the only thing he managed to see was the small woman throwing herself at him at full speed. He felt her body against him, her hands on the back of his head to avoid a hard hit with the floor, her chest against his face and the rest of her body pushing him to one side and down.

 

She tackled Asami Ryuichi to the ground.

 

And at that exact moment he heard it. Glass shattered somewhere and the wall behind him cracked. He recognized that crack noise, he had heard it several times before, it was the sound of a bullet embedding a wall.

 

A sniper was shooting at them.

 

In a heartbeat hell broke loose, Asami covered with Sayuri behind the server counter while Akihito crouched in the kitchen, every time one of them made an attempt to move from their positions a bullet was sent to them.

 

“Akihito, stay where you are!”

 

His brain raced with multiple possibilities to do but he found he could not avert his eyes from Akihito, the photographer was pale and his blue eyes wide in fear, he needed to do something to protect him but he couldn’t think for a counterattack against a sniper with his handgun. He was brought out of his own mind by the firm voice by his side.

 

“Asami-sama, stay down!”

 

He turned to face her but she was gone.

 

Using her speed in her favor Sayuri sprinted out of her cover spot and into the living room, she ignored the bullets that grazed her body and used the sofa to cover again. She could feel the warm liquid dripping from some of the gashes in her body but paid no attention to them, there was no time to waste.

 

Carefully she sneaked her head to get a visual on her next cover spot and an evil grin grew in her face, there was Kirishima in the other side of the living room covered with the wall that connected to the hall, and he had something in his hands.

 

They saw at each other eyes and nodded. Sayuri stormed out of her spot again at raced as fast as she could towards the secretary but didn’t stopped with him, instead she kept running and prepared her hands to catch what the secretary had in his hands before. As soon as she was near him he threw the object to her, she caught it and sprinted full speed to the balcony using everything she found in her way to cover.

 

Finally she made it to her destination, using the bulletproof glass from the edge of the balcony as cover she took a deep breath and put the object in position.

 

A sniper rifle.

 

Why Kirishima had it? She had no idea, she assumed it was part of the new weapons around the penthouse, she never thought they would need them and definitely she never imagined she would fire one the very first five minutes of them back home. But none of that mattered at that moment; she had a job to do.

 

Using the glass edge as support she placed herself in position and aimed the riffle to the source of the bullets. Sayuri looked through the rifle sight and located the shooter.

 

Deep breaths, she had to calm down if she wanted to take him down with one shot, he was getting nervous, his shots were more frequent but more inaccurate, she could use that. Sayuri ignored the sudden impact in the glass she was leaning on, she ignored the sudden burn at her cheek when a bullet grazed it, deep breaths.

 

She pulled the trigger.

 

***

 

“Clear!”

 

As soon as that word left the girl’s lips and reached his ears Asami stood and turned to face Akihito, the photographer was faster than him though. In less than a second the blond all but launched himself to his arms and held him tight, his shoulder shaking. Asami buried is nose in the photographer hair and held him closer. Anger built inside him, someone dared to attack him in his home again, he turned his sight to the glass balcony door. It was the exact same glass door he had to replace from the last attack, it was supposed to be bulletproof, yet there it was, shattered all over the floor.

 

He ignored his secretary who rushed to his side asking if he was alright, his brain was busy between the possible culprits and the shaking boy in his arms. His train of thought was cut down by said boy when an alarmed Akihito escaped his embrace.

 

“Asami, you are bleeding! Were you shot!?”

 

The crime lord lowered his gaze to his torso and saw the red liquid in the right side of his chest and his right arm. But the blood was not dripping nor pooling out of his body, it was just over him. He found a gash in his suit sleeve but there was no wound.

 

“I’m not wounded, the blood is not mine.”

 

Akihito left out a sigh in relieve, he ignored the hands that were manhandling him in search of wounds in his body when realization struck him. If it was not Asami’s blood and not his own then it could only mean one thing.

 

The blond spotted a little puddle of red in the floor next to the server counter and followed the bloody trail to the living room, behind the couch and then all the way to the balcony.

 

“Sayuri!”

 

Akihito freed himself from Asami’s arms and rushed to the girl’s side, she was sitting in the balcony with her back against the glass edge, holding her left side of her abdomen, pain evident in her face. Akihito could see a fair amount of blood leaking between her fingers.

 

He crouched at her side and helped her apply pressure to the wound, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the girl’s face; she was pale and breathing heavily. Instants latter Kirishima was there too, checking for other wounds and urging her to keep her eyes open.

 

Time seemed to distort for Akihito, the drops of blood hitting the floor seemed to slow down midair while what happened inside the penthouse was a blur, a large amount of guards entered the penthouse and made a search, Asami ordered to retrieve the shooter’s body and find any accomplice. A group of guards took Sayuri to the hospital and he and Asami were drove back to the safehouse.

 

He knew a new nightmare was waiting for him that night.

 

TBC.


	19. Abyss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito and Asami are back at the safehouse. Asami tries to figure out whose head to shot while Akihito makes an important decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> First of all, have you already read the special that came out recently? I loved it! Child Akihito is just soooo adorable!!! Please feel free to tell me what you think, I would love to fangirl a little with you about it, and if you hadn’t read it, then why are you still here? Go read that first!!! But make sure to come back and tell me your thoughts if you would like to do so.
> 
> Ok, back to this story, this chapter wasn’t planned but I think some explanations about Akihito’s thinking are needed for what I have in mind to be clear in the future, also I found those explanations a bit too long and to include them in the chapter I had originally planned seemed too much, so that’s why this chapter was born. Hope you like it.
> 
> As in every single chapter let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, feel free to point them out and I will solve them immediately.
> 
> Please enjoy and please do comment, reading your comments always make my day. 
> 
> I can’t thank you enough for all your lovely support, even more now that recently this story reached the 10000 hits, not even in my wildest dreams I had imagined to have such a nice response to my crazy ideas, seriously, thank you so much, please receive my digital panda hugs for all of you!!!
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 19. ABYSS.**

The trembling had subsided a while ago but anxiety took its place, sat on Asami’s lap with his hands clutched to the raven’s shirt Akihito pressed his head against that strong chest and tried to calm down using his partner’s heartbeat. It was not working.

 

The car was completely silent, Kirishima behind the wheel kept his eyes on the road and searching for possible threats but Akihito could see there was something different in the usually calmed and composed secretary, he was exuding anxiety and guilt through each one of his pores. Asami had one of his hands drawing circles on Akihito’s back in a soothing motion, his face was calm and expressionless as always but his heartbeat gave him away, that was why it was not helping Akihito to calm down, it was faster than usual, Asami was angry and Akihito could see worry in his golden orbs.

 

 The photographer’s eyes came down to the crime lord’s chest, the bloody suit jacket was gone but the blood had passed through the fabric and some red patches were visible in his white shirt. Akihito pressed his body harder against Asami’s in an effort to bury himself in the raven’s chest, the hand in his back stopped and instead two strong arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace, pulling him closer.

 

They kept that position for the rest of the trip, when they arrived back to the safehouse Akihito climbed down reluctantly from Asami’s lap and stood out of the car waiting for his partner to join him, as soon as Asami was out the door Akihito took his hand at stayed by side keeping the body contact at all times, they entered the safehouse like that, none of them willing to pull back, both of them needing to feel the other close, both of them reminding themselves the other was there by their side.

 

The three men entered the safehouse, Asami and Akihito immediately sat on the living room couch while Kirishima went to the main bedroom. Again the photographer stayed on the crime lord’s lap hugging him, instants later Kirishima came back with a clean new shirt for his boss. Finally the couple broke the contact, Akihito stayed in the couch while Asami stood to change his shirt.

 

“What happened, Kirishima?”

 

The secretary gulped, Asami’s voice was harsh and he knew his boss enough to know he was beyond pissed. But he himself felt no better, the secretary was angry at himself, he hadn’t been careful enough and his mistake led his boss and Akihito to be in great danger. He had failed the ones he had promised to protect and as a result Sayuri was injured and Asami and Akihito were almost killed. Feeling the guilt creeping to his body Kirishima made the only thing he felt was right. The man took his gun from his holster, faced his boss, went down on his knees, placed he gun at Asami’s feet and lowered his head until his forehead touched the ground.

 

“I deeply apologize for my incompetence, Asami-sama. I have failed you and as consequence put you and Takaba-kun in great danger, I will accept any punishment you find appropriate.”

 

Akihito watched the whole scene with wide eyes; he never thought he would see the stoic secretary down in full dogeza* and offering his own weapon to his boss. Asami in the other hand watched his secretary with an expressionless face, his golden eyes pierced through Kirishima’s soul while thinking his next actions. After a few moments of silence Asami took the gun from the ground and saw the man kneeling in front of him tense.

 

“Get up, Kirishima. “

 

The secretary raised his head with a surprised look in his eyes, he had expected his boss to beat him to a pulp or shot him on the spot but instead the crime lord was offering his gun back.

 

“I’ll decide your punishment later. I want a list of everyone involved in the safety measures of the penthouse immediately. I want to know what happened as soon as possible.”

 

Kirishima stood and took his gun back tucking it back to the holster, he made a 90° bow and after a strong _‘Yes, sir’_ he went to retrieve his tablet from the table. His boss’s baritone voice stopped him midway, anger still palpable in his threatening tone.

 

“Don’t fail me this time, Kirishima.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

***

 

Akihito stayed in the couch watching the secretary typing things in his tablet while Asami sat beside the photographer. He knew Asami was mad and Akihito himself was kind of angry too but he found the whole scene an exaggeration. When Asami took Kirishima’s gun from the ground the photographer thought he was going to witness Asami put a bullet in Kirishima’s head. He was about to try and stop him when the crime lord handed the gun back to his secretary and Akihito released a relieved sigh.

 

Now with said secretary working his brains out Akihito was left with an angry crime lord to deal with. As soon as Asami sat beside him he engulfed the blond in another embrace and connected their lips together, it was a rough kiss but Akihito was able to convey all the emotions it displayed. He was able to pull back to breath and Asami wasted no time to manhandle his body again in search for injuries. Despite the numerous reassurances Akihito gave him about being unharmed the raven man kept his search, he stopped when he found nothing out of place.

 

Kirishima approached his boss and cleared his throat to catch his attention. Asami stood and started pacing in the room.

 

“Sir, the personnel involved in the safety of the penthouse is a really select one. Directly under my orders are Tachibana and her Intel team; under Suoh’s orders are Shibata and his team and Natsume-san.”

 

“How many in each team?”

 

The secretary looked at his tablet again to confirm the numbers.

 

“Intel team is six members including Tachibana. Guards team is ten members including Shibata.”

 

“What else do you have?”

 

Kirishima handed Asami his tablet and signaled something in the screen.

 

“The order placed for the glass door was altered, I made sure to contact the usual supplier for the bulletproof glass but someone changed it for a regular one.”

 

The door of the safehouse opened and Suoh entered the living room, his usual stoic expression replaced by a mixture of concern and angriness. The chief of security informed he had the whole guard team under lockdown and ready to proceed with interrogation procedures, then the blond man gave his report.

 

“We retrieved the sniper’s body, I have some men working on his identification.  Also, according to our first reconstructions the first bullet was the only one planned; it went through the glass, hit Natsume-kun but went through, grazed your arm and embedded the wall. Judging by the trajectory of the bullet if it had gone as intended it would have hit your heart, Sir. The following shooting was just an attempt to finish the job; you were the main target, Asami-sama.”

 

Asami took his cigarettes from his pocket and lighted one, he welcomed the nicotine in his system. He knew the hat man was involved; there was no way all the past week’s events were a coincidence. He heard Suoh’s phone went off and the guard answered the call.

 

“The mole is good.”

 

Asami turned to face the source of the voice, Asami had forgotten the blond was still in the room and Akihito had heard all of the reports.

 

“Akihito, go to another room.”

 

“What? No! I’m staying here to help you find who did this.”

 

Asami gave him an angry glare and was rewarded with a stubborn one, his boy was not in a mood to give in but neither did he.

 

“This has nothing to do with you.”

 

Akihito stood and marched towards the crime lord, he planted himself in front of him and stared directly into his eyes, what Asami said made him mad but he was not going to let that stop him.

 

“It has everything to do with me! I was followed, kidnapped, ambushed, shot at and even attacked in YOUR house so the bad guys could get to YOU. The target is you but they know I am a good way to get you out so don’t tell me it has nothing to do with me because this shit involves both of us.”

 

“Don’t be a stubborn brat, there is nothing you can do about it so just stay put while we deal with this.”

 

If Akihito was already mad he exploded with that. Asami was treating him like a child, again.

 

“Don’t treat me like a kid or something, don’t forget what I do for a living and I have been doing it without problems for years, don’t you dare look down on me. I know your world pretty well and it’s something I had already accepted, don’t you dare to keep me in the dark like some weakling.”

 

Their discussion kept going for a while, none of them willed to give up on their argument. Things began to heat up when they were interrupted by Suoh.

 

“Sir, Hayashi-sensei called. Natsume-kun was really lucky, it was a clean shot, the bullet went through and missed all the organs, the main concern was the amount of blood she lost but they gave her some transfusions. Hayashi-sensei expects her to be up and kicking in a week.”

 

Asami nodded to Suoh and Akihito sighed in relief suddenly feeling some tension leave his body. After the news everybody made themselves busy with different things. Suoh and Kirishima entered and leaved the safehouse every couple of hours with reports, calls, findings and works for Asami; the crime lord had retreated to an office in the safehouse to work from there all day not willing to leave his kitten alone; while Akihito made a full course meal for everyone as he had nothing else to do without his computer.

 

It was almost dawn when Kirishima and Suoh returned together with some folders in their hands, both men marched to the office Asami was in and closed the door behind them. Akihito stayed outside the door with his ear pressed against it, even if Asami didn’t want to tell him anything he was going to get the information and make his own research. The blond listened carefully to what was being said in the other side of the door.

 

“Sir, we located who altered the supplies order. I ordered Tachibana to hand the original order to the suppliers via email and she did, but according to the records some hours later Shibata handed the altered order personally.”

 

“Isolate him from the other guards and prepare to interrogate him tomorrow morning.”

 

Akihito stood back and returned to the kitchen, his brain was racing with the information. Shibata, his first guard. Was it possible? He had enough rank to get hold of a lot of information and could find out Akihito’s whereabouts easily, he was one of the few that knew when Akihito was alone at the penthouse and when they would come back, yes, it was possible for him to be mole but something inside Akihito made him doubt. Why would he do that? That was what Akihito had to find out.

 

***

 

_Darkness, there was nothing else but darkness. Akihito was standing alone in the middle of nowhere; he could not hear a thing, not even his own voice. Suddenly he heard something, a scream. A terrified blood freezing scream._

_Akihito turned to where the scream came from and in the middle of the darkness he saw red, a little puddle of blood was there, he came closer to it and found a trail of blood that got lost in the darkness. Without knowing why he followed it, finding more puddles along the way, each of them bigger than the last on. After some time he saw at the distance a bulge ahead, he ran to it and his heart skipped a beat._

_Brown/green eyes looked at him but there was nothing inside them, Sayuri was dead on the ground above a big puddle of blood. But the blood trail didn’t end there, it continued past the girl and a couple of meter away was another bulge, Akihito walked slowly to it and felt his heart stop completely. It was Asami with his golden eyes staring blankly to nothing, a black hole in his forehead and a trail of blood through his face._

_Suddenly he felt something at his back, he turned around and saw Sayuri, covered in blood standing behind him, just looking at him. The girl raised her hand and took a step forward to reach him but her hand became red, her flesh fell by pieces leaving only the muscles which after all the flesh was gone began to fell apart too. Akihito tried to scream at the sight but no sound left his throat; he stumbled backwards and crashed against something hard, he turned around and there was Asami with that bullet hole still in his forehead and blood dripping from his body, the crime lord’s eyes were not blank anymore, they were staring Akihito with determination, Asami raised his hand to touch the photographer but the same thing that happened to Sayuri happened to him._

_Again Akihito tried to scream but there was no sound, what was left of Asami’s bloody hand reached his face and cupped his cheek, he could feel the warm red fluid staining his skin. Asami opened his mouth and the words that left it made Akihito shiver._

_“To the end of the abyss.”_

_Finally he heard his own scream._

***

Akihito woke up with a start and sat on the bed out of reflex, he was sweating and his heart was beating fast in his chest. The blond looked around the room and found he was alone in the bed and there were no signs of Asami ever being there at all. Akihito reached to the nightstand and looked at the clock, 2:00 am. He took some minutes to calm down; it had been just another nightmare.

 

When his heartbeat finally slowed to a normal rhythm he got out of bed and walked through the halls of the safehouse immersed on his own thoughts until he found himself outside the office, the door was closed but he could see light leaking under it. With great care and as silently as he could he slightly opened the door, just enough for him to see inside. Asami was behind a desk focused on some documents. So the man was still working even when Kirishima and Suoh had called it a day.

 

Akihito closed the door and returned to the bedroom, he laid down in his side of the bed again and covered himself with the blankets but he was not sleepy anymore, his brain was racing.

 

Asami was still working, was it something about Sion? Or was it about the sniper and hattie? As he tried to answer those questions a baritone voice resounded in his mind ‘ _Stay put while we deal with this.’_ Asami was definitely working on the sniper. To protect him?, To protect himself?, To have revenge? That was a difficult one to answer, Akihito was not sure about Asami’s motives for anything. His nightmare came back to his mind.

 

_‘To the end of the abyss.’_

 

What was that supposed to mean? If I die you die with me? If you betray me I will hunt you down? If you go down I go down too? Since the day Asami had told him that Akihito had never been able to decipher what that meant, again, he wasn’t sure about Asami and what motivated him. He wasn’t even sure about the man’s feeling towards him.

 

‘ _To the end of the abyss.’_

 

And then it clicked. It went both ways. It didn’t matter if he didn’t know what Asami meant because Akihito knew what it meant for himself. Akihito knew what his own abyss was.

 

After the whole Sudou fiasco he had realized he was part of Asami’s private life but now he realized Asami was also part of Akihito’s private life. It went both ways. Back then Akihito had promised he was never going to go against Asami again and try to work for him but now he realized he didn’t want to work FOR him this time, he wanted to work WITH him, as allies, as equals. The Sudou situation made him see he didn’t want to give up on Asami and he had vowed to become his eyes and watch his back from his enemies, now he vowed again but this time he was not only to watch his back, he was going to protect him.

 

It went both ways.

 

“If you go down, I’ll go down with you, to the end of the abyss.”

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dogeza: 土下座 "sitting right on the ground" is an element of Japanese manners by kneeling directly on the ground and bowing to prostrate oneself as touching one's head to the floor. It is used to show deference to the most highly revered high-class person, as a deep apology and to express the desire for a favor from said person.
> 
> Next chapter a little sneak peak of Sayuri’s past.


	20. Dunhill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito moves by himself even if Asami doesn’t want him to and finds out there is a lot he doesn’t know about Sayuri.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> It’s 2:00 am here in my country but I just couldn’t stop writing. I have been planning this chapter for sooo long and it’s finally here, Akihito starts to take the matter in his hands, we get to know a little bit of Sayuri’s past and it throws an important clue for the development of this plot. It’s mostly Sayuri centered but please bear with me, it’s important for the plot. Hope you are up for a long reading, I enjoyed a lot writing this one so I got a little too much carried away, I’m not surprised it turned out this lengthy (A little more than 7,000 words. New personal record!), hope you like it!
> 
> Also, PLEASE MIND THE TAGS. Please go back and read them again since I added a few more. A warning for this chapter: mentions of past torture and past rape, it you are sensible to those topics please skip the part in italics. 
> 
> As in every single chapter let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, feel free to point them out and I will solve them immediately.
> 
> Please enjoy and please do comment, reading your comments always make my day. 
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 20. DUNHILL.**

Asami had only a couple of hours of sleep before he and Akihito left to Sion that morning, he didn’t told Akihito what he had done until sunrise but the photographer already knew, what the crime lord didn’t know was that Akihito wasn’t going to stay put either. Once in Asami’s office, the crime lord went through some documents while Akihito stared at him from the couch.

 

“You will spend every day here with me at Sion until Sayuri is back on duty, when I am not here you are not to leave this office at any circumstance.”

 

Akihito stood in surprise and walked over to Asami’s desk, the crime lord hadn’t raised his head to peak to him but when he felt the intense glare his boy was giving him he finally looked up. Blue eyes shone in determination.

 

“What? No way, I have work to do and you can’t keep me here!”

 

“Take it as a one week vacation, also you can’t go fully back to work with just one functional ear.”

 

Akihito pressed his lips, he couldn’t deny that but he wasn’t going to lose that easily either.

 

“Fine, I won´t go to work, leave me at the safehouse, you can’t keep me here all day.”

 

“You are safer here. And you won’t leave this office without me, I’ll lock the door.”

 

Before Akihito could reply again Asami stood and made his way to the door with Akihito on his heels. The crime lord opened it and turned to face the blond, he cupped his face with one hand and kissed his lips, the kiss was soft and tender but it took Akihito’s breath away. Asami pulled back and closed the door behind him leaving a dazed Akihito inside the office.

 

It took his a couple of second realize what had happened, Akihito wasted no time and tried to follow the raven but the door wouldn’t open. It was locked. Akihito cursed and ponded the door but no answer came and he knew Asami was gone, he was alone in his office with nothing to do and he had no idea how much time it would be that way.

 

Suddenly Akihito remembered the conversation he heard last night between Asami, Kirishima and Suoh. They planned to interrogate Shibata that morning so that meant Asami was gone for at least a couple of hours. The photographer paced along the office for a couple of minutes deep in thought, he couldn’t get rid of the sensation that something was wrong, he couldn’t believe Shibata was the mole but he could not tell Asami he knew Shibata was innocent just because his gut told him so, he needed proofs.

 

Another minutes passed and the photographer kept thinking until he something above the desk caught his attention: Asami’s computer. Akihito sat behind the desk and turned the computer on, if Asami didn’t trust his abilities to help him in this one he only had to show him otherwise, he had to teach him not to underestimate a journalist.

 

Akihito cracked his knuckles and stretched his fingers ready to work some magic, his lips curved in an evil but determined smile.

 

***

 

Asami wasn’t enjoying himself, Shibata Keiichi was a man in whom he had great hopes, personally trained by Suoh, quick with his brain and also held in high expectative from Kirishima, the man was one of the few people he actually trusted his life and Akihito’s. And now said man was tied to a chair in a warehouse being interrogated for treason.

 

A couple of hours had passed and the tied guard was exhausted, multiple bruises covered his body and he could taste blood from his lip but he wasn’t giving in, Shibata kept saying the same thing over and over again.

 

“I… am not… a traitor… I just… followed the… orders that were… sent to me… I didn’t know… the supplies order… was… altered…”

 

His breathing was labored and panted hardly between words but he didn’t flinch away even once at Suoh’s fists. He received the beatings without a pained sound and stayed calm; despite the pained expression on his face his eyes remained strong. Asami felt some respect for the man as the interrogation continued but he wasn’t pleased by the man’s answers, even more when every time he asked who sent those orders he always gave the same answer: “You, Asami-sama.”

 

Suoh kept using the guard as a punch bag and Asami decided he had had enough, he wanted answers and he was going to get them himself. The crime lord took off his suit jacket, the vest and his tie and rolled his sleeves above his elbows, he might need some extra tools for what he had in mind but he could ask Suoh to get them while he warmed up. Asami made his way towards Shibata and the guard’s eyes showed fear for the first time.

 

And his phone rang.

 

Normally Asami would have ignored it but he recognized the ringtone, Akihito was calling him. Asami went back to the chair where he left his jacket and took out his phone from the pocket. He didn’t even bothered to greet the photographer.

 

“This better be good, Akihito. I don’t have time for your antics right now.”

 

“Don’t kill Shibata!”

 

That took Asami by surprise, he expected some tantrum about being held against his will and constant yells calling him a bastard and a pervert, he expected a lot of things but not that one.

 

“How do you know about him?”

 

“That’s not important, don’t kill him! I can proof he is not the mole!”

 

Asami froze. His kitten was full of surprises that day.

 

“Explain.”

 

“I used your personal server to access Sion’s data, it was tricky but I found a deleted e-mail to Shibata, it has the altered order attached and instructions to hand it personally to the suppliers.”

 

“Who sent it?”

 

The line was silent for some moments, he knew Akihito was still there because he could hear his soft breathing but the photographer was taking his time to answer, that could not be good.

 

“You… It’s from your address.”

 

Asami stood still as the words sink in his brain, seconds later the blond boy spoke again.

 

“But we all know you actually didn’t send that so it means someone hacked your server. I tried to track the source but I couldn’t.”

 

Asami turned to look at the tied guard; Shibata spitted to the floor some of the blood from his mouth and kept his head low. Asami kept his eyes locked on the man for a few more seconds before he mumbled a quick ‘ _Thanks’_ to the phone and hang up.

 

“Kirishima, we are going back to Sion. Shibata is telling the truth, he was framed. Suoh, take him to a hospital.”

 

The crime lord didn’t wait for any answer; as soon as those words left his lips he started walking towards the car with Kirishima behind him. Suoh watched his boss leave and as soon as the raven crime lord was not in sight he left out a relieved sigh and proceeded to untie Shibata.

 

“I’m glad I don’t have to beat you into a pulp anymore. You ok?”

 

As soon as the ropes weren’t keeping him in place Shibata fell from the chair but before his body could hit the floor he was caught by Suoh. The chief of security put Shibata’s arm around his neck to help him stand and supported his weight so the guard could walk, or at least try to.

 

“I’ll be fine Suoh-san, thank you for restraining yourself back then, if you hadn’t I would be in an coffin already.”

 

“So you noticed. I just couldn’t make myself to go full mode against you.”

 

He heard a small laugh from the beaten guard but soon it transformed in a half pained moan. His deep black eyes looked tired and his lids were half open above then, it didn’t surprised Suoh, he had endured the questioning for a long time so it was natural to be exhausted but at the same time he felt a glimpse of pride, the man he had trained had endured a questioning with no other than Asami Ryuichi without giving in and was still conscious.

 

“I hope I don’t have to see your resign letter after this…”

 

“You don’t, Suoh-san. I understand why Asami-sama did what he did and I don’t blame him, if I were on his place I would have done the same thing.”

 

It was Suoh’s time to give the other man a small laugh. He felt relieved; to lose a valuable man was not something he looked up to.

 

“But I would appreciate that in case this was to be repeated please let me know beforehand so I can prepare myself psychologically, I’m not eager to go through that again.”

 

Suoh left out a true laugh this time. He continued to half carry, half drag Shibata to a car careful to not injure him anymore while the guard made his best effort to walk straight and keep his eyes open. The blond guard couldn’t help but feel relieved Shibata was well enough to joke around, he was going to give the man some extra days off after the hospital, and even if it wasn’t something Suoh would recognize out loud he knew Shibata deserved them.

 

“Deal.”

 

***

 

Asami was not in a good mood, the whole trip back to Sion the crime lord kept staring at the window of the car and a black deadly aura filled every corner of the vehicle, the only thing Kirishima could do was stay silent and drive as fast as possible. Both men had their minds racing on the same matter, their server was hacked and that was not an easy thing to do, Kirishima had made sure about that when he created it but someone had managed to access and actually send orders as if they were from Asami himself, there was nothing the secretary wanted to do more than to find the hacker and torture them slowly.

 

When they arrived to Sion Asami didn’t wait for his secretary, he immediately got out of the car and made his way to his office where he had locked Akihito, by the time he arrived at the elevator Kirishima joined him and together went to see Akihito’s findings.

 

The first thing Asami saw after he unlocked and opened his office door was Akihito behind his desk focused on something in his computer, when he stood next to his boy was surprised to see him playing some role play game.

 

“Finally you are back, I was bored so I found something to play, how can you not have any game here?”

 

The only response the photographer got was the constant stare of golden eyes, when he looked up to meet the crime lord’s eyes he saw the anger built up in the man.

 

“Please tell you didn’t kill Shibata.”

 

Again Asami said nothing; he crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at the blond. Akihito gulped; he could sense the mood in the man and decided to give him the information before he decided to shot someone. Akihito closed the game and after a few clicks and hits to the keyboard his findings pooped in the screen.

 

“This is the e-mail I found, it came from your address. Take a look.”

 

The photographer stood and sat in the couch allowing Asami and Kirishima to see the e-mail. After a couple of minutes Kirishima sat in the chair and started typing thing in the computer, Asami looked back at the blond boy.

 

“How did you find it? How did you access my server?”

 

“I deduced the only way to access to every single piece of Sion’s data not being a hacker was though Kirishima’s computer but since you are the boss I thought maybe it was also possible to do it from yours in case you needed it or something, so since I had nothing to do I gave it a try. Obviously it worked. I found the surveillance recorders of the day the order was done and I saw Shibata on his computer in one of the restrooms and just after that he printed something and left, I supposed he had received a mail or something so I accessed it. His security level is awfully low; can you believe his password is _password?_ You should ask him to change it. Anyway, I entered and found nothing but running a time-lapse check I found there was a received mail registered but there was no mail anywhere. After some struggles I managed to restore it and that’s it. I tried to track the source but my abilities are really basic so I couldn’t, maybe glasses can.”

 

Asami smirked; his kitten certainly was full of surprises. As he reached to his pocket to take out his cigarettes Kirishima stopped typing and signaled Asami to come closer, a deep frown on his face Akihito knew he was serious, that could not be good news.”

 

“Sir, I located the source.”

 

The secretary paused a moment to gather his thoughts and pick the correct words to say, he knew his boss was in a bad mood and the news he was about to give him were not going to help him.

 

“The source of the e-mail is the control room, only the Intel team has access to it.”

 

Asami crushed the cigarette pack on his hand, the mole was part of the Intel team. One of the worst scenarios had become a reality; the mole being part of the Intel team was real bad. The crime lord had had the hope they were part of the guard’s team, which case was easier to handle since their movements were limited because the reduced amount of information they could have. Being part of the Intel team on the other hand was completely different, that meant the mole had access to unlimited information and had ways to alter it, delete it or even filter it to the outside world.

 

“Make a deep cleaning on the Intel team, any black spot and they are out.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

Asami left the crushed box on the desk and sat beside Akihito, with a quick swift movement of his arm he pulled the photographer on his lap and stared at those blue eyes, he grabbed Akihito’s chin with one hand and placed a kiss to his lips, and to his surprise the blond deepened the kiss. He pulled away when he heard a small moan from the boy.

 

“Since when you are a hacker?”

 

Akihito took some moment before answer to catch his breath and allow his brain to think straight again.

 

“I’m not a hacker. Those were high end journalistic skills. You know I uncover the truth others want to hide.”

 

The crime lord lowered his head to nip at Akihito’s neck, the photographer felt the warm breath of Asami against his skin and couldn’t stop another moan.

 

“You make that through your camera lenses.”

 

“Photography is my main way, it’s my passion, but don’t forget I am a journalist. I have a couple of skills you still don’t know about.”

 

The crime lord chuckled. Content with his work on the photographer’s neck, Asami changed their positions until Akihito was lying on his back in the couch and Asami was on top kissing him again. Slowly his hands began to wander under the blonde’s shirt and caressed the soft skin underneath.

 

“Shibata will be out of duty for a few days but will be back soon. Thanks to you I didn’t had to get rid of a very capable man, I believe you deserve a reward.”

 

Asami felt his kitten’s face press against his shoulder while he twisted softly the boy’s nipples, when he felt both of them had received the appropriate treatment he unbuckled the photographer’s belt and pushed down his jeans, when his hand found what he was looking for the crime lord grinned at the muffled moans against his shoulder. 

 

***

 

Akihito waked up to sound of soft steps and the smell of expensive cologne, he blinked his eyes opened and rolled to see Asami completely dressed in his designer suit ready to leave. The photographer looked at him with a puzzled expression, one week had passed since the sniper attack and every morning Asami had woken him and dragged him to Sion all day, then returned to the safehouse around midnight and after a couple of steamy rounds finally went to sleep, Akihito was already getting used to this forced routine so Asami ready to leave without him was a rarity.

 

Asami noticed his kitten was awake and looking at him with a confused expression, the crime lord walked over next to the boy and placed a feather light kiss on his lips.

 

“You don’t have to come with me, go back to sleep. I’m leaving now, see you at night.”

 

“B-be safe.”

 

The photographer kept staring at the door a couple of minutes after Asami left, was he serious? He was allowed to stay there alone? Maybe he could go out? Too excited by this idea to go back to sleep Akihito got out of bed and entered the bathroom to have a shower, he felt a little sore but he paid no attention to it. Fifteen minutes later Akihito was clean and dresses to go out, his stomach grumbled and he decided to grab a bite before he left.

 

Akihito walked through the halls and made his way to the kitchen when something caught his eye in the living room. In the couch sat as if there were no preoccupations in the world while reading a book was Sayuri. 

 

“Sa-Sayuri...”

 

At the mention of her name the girl lifted her sight to the photographer but couldn’t see much, soon enough the blond man tackled her to the couch and hugged her.

 

“A-Akihito-san… is everything ok?”

 

Akihito snapped out of his joy and looked at the girl below her, she had a deep red blush in her face and her sight was averted from him, then he realized he had acted without thinking, the last time he had seen her she was beyond pale and losing to much blood but seeing her again as nothing had happened made him really happy. He noticed the position they were was a really compromising one. An equally deep red blush tinted his face and quickly stood up.

 

“I’m sorry, I was just so happy to see you again that I acted without thinking.”

 

His companion stood up and bowed to greet him.

 

“I’m happy to see you to Akihito-san. How is your hearing?”

 

“It’s better, the buzzing is still there and its driving me nuts but I can hear again. How about you, you got me worried, how are your injuries? Are you sure you are well enough to come back so soon?”

 

“I’m sorry I worried you, Akihito-san. I’m fine, I still have stitches but Hayashi-sensei said I’m good to go. Just… I don’t want my stitches to pop so please go easy on me.”

 

Akihito laughed; he was relieved she was ok. They spent the next hours chatting; Akihito had insisted on having breakfast together and banned the girl from the kitchen when she offered to cook. The photographer laughed at the guard’s story of her nurse gaping like a fish when Kirishima and Suoh decided to visit her at the hospital and Sayuri laughed back when Akihito told him about the pranks he made to both men while bored at Sion. Akihito realized they no longer had a simple guard/client relationship, it felt different but right at the same time. The only word that crossed his mind to describe it was _friendship_.

 

He felt really comfortable with her, she would listen to him not caring if he was joking or if it was a serious matter and she actually treated him like an equal; also he noticed she looked comfortable around him too, the first days she seemed closed up but slowly she began to open up to him and they started to know each other better.

 

“Oh, I almost forgot. I’ve got a couple of things for you, Akihito-san.”

 

She walked back to the living room and returned with a couple of bags, Akihito opened them and almost bounced in excitement because of their contents, his laptop and game console were back to ease his boredom.

 

***

 

They developed a routine of their own, every morning Akihito would eat breakfast either with Asami or Sayuri, when the crime lord was gone and the guard entered through the door they would chat or play video games, they took turns in cooking lunch and in the afternoon Akihito always worked on his computer while Sayuri read a book, they stopped when Asami was back home and Sayuri left leaving Akihito to spend the night with his partner. Before the photographer realized another week had passed.

 

“I’ve got him!”

 

Akihito threw his arms to the air and yelled with happiness. The girl lifted her gaze from her book and looked to his direction; the photographer was smiling brightly at something on his laptop.

 

“What is it, Akihito-san? Please don’t tell me you are planning a stake out, I know your hearing is better but it’s still dangerous.”

 

“No! Come here, I’ll show you.”

 

The girl stood and walked there, her eyes widened when she landed her sight in the photographs on the screen. She had seen a photograph of the man’s dead body when she was still in the hospital and she had seen him alive before that through a rifle sight just before the man became a cadaver.

 

“I know who the sniper was!”

 

“Why do you have a photo of him? How did you identify him? The Intel team still has nothing!”

 

Akihito grinned with a mischievous look in his eyes.

 

“I stole the photograph from Asami’s computer when I was at Sion. As for how I identified him before your Intel team, well… no offence but the whole team is full of square heads, I bet they are used to complex espionage and stuff like that but that’s exactly why they forget to think simple. The man was not that old so I was sure he had to have some social media, it took a while but I finally found his personal profiles.”

 

It was the first time the photographer actually saw her gaping, he laughed at the sight. Akihito fished his phone out of his pocket and search for a number, he had to tell Asami but he knew it was not safe to inform him through the phone so he had to ask to see him, also he wanted to see his face when he told him, if he was lucky maybe he could see the crime lord gape too.

 

He placed his phone next to his ear and waited for the man to answer.

 

“What a pleasure, kitten. Do you miss me already?”

 

“Shut up, you perverted bastard! I have to see you now, I have something for you. It’s important.”

 

Silent met him for a couple of seconds, then he heard the characteristic sound of Asami releasing a long smoke, Akihito could imagine the man in his office with his Dunhill between his lips.

 

“You should stop smoking like an industrial chimney. How many have you had today?”

 

“Three, six, eight, doesn’t matter. I’ll send someone to drive you and Sayuri here; don’t leave her side at any circumstance. I have a couple of meetings now so wait for me in my office.”

 

After they said their goodbyes Akihito stood and gathered his stuff and packed his laptop in a backpack, some minutes later Sayuri told him their ride was there and they left.

 

Akihito was surprised to see a black BMW in front of the door but what surprised him was not the car but the man leaning against it waiting for them. Shibata bowed to greet him and opened the back door for him. Akihito greeted the guard, happy to actually see him breathing. He entered the back of the car while Sayuri took the front passenger seat and Shibata the driver one.

 

When they arrived at Sion he said goodbye to Shibata and entered the building with Sayuri, with his backpack on one shoulder he was practically bouncing with excitement, he couldn’t wait to see Asami’s face when he knew his findings. He should take a photo.

 

They ride the elevator to the top floor, it seemed to move too slowly for the impatient blond and when they finally arrived at the floor and the doors opened he walked away immediately towards Asami’s office.

 

Akihito opened the door and entered the office with Sayuri behind him, she closed the door and both of them walk a couple of steps into the office. And that’s when Akihito noticed it, the office looked cloudy, a thin fog of gray smoke covered the air in the closed room and then he smelled it, it was a smell he recognized really well. Dunhill.

 

***

 

She saw the photographer enter the office and followed him in; she had orders to stay by his side at any moment. Once inside she closed the door behind them and walked behind the boy not paying much attention to her surroundings, the boss’s office was a safe place so she could relax. She took a deep breath. And she froze. She smelled it.

 

Dunhill. Strong and unmistakable.

 

Suddenly the smell was everywhere, even if she tried not to smell it too much she perceived it as an overwhelming wave. 

 

She felt dizzy; the room began to spin like crazy, sound began to fade, her lungs burned and she couldn’t breathe. Images flashed in front of her eyes. She began to shake while fear overtook her body. The images continued to pop and soon enough she could no longer distinguish between present and past time. The only thing she was certain about was the strong fear that clutched her chest.

 

_She was cold. Without opening her eyes she noticed the hard surface she was lying on. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw she was back at her dark cell, she had no idea how she came back but it didn’t mattered anyway so she made no effort to remember. With slow movements she sat in that hard floor, the sound of metal against metal caught her attention and she noticed the shackles around her little wrists, her hands were chained to one of her bed legs. Despite the darkness she could see the marks in her small body, purple, blue, green, yellow and red stained her skin in grotesque bruises and cuts._

_And then she smelled it._

_Strong and unmistakable._

_Dunhill._

_Her body started shaking in fear. There was only one reason her dark cell had that smell. The Master was there and he was not in a good mood. With her brown/green eyes wide in absolute panic she turned her head and saw the Master, he was sitting in a chair across the small cell with a cigarette between his lips._

_“Finally awake, ‘Sa-chan’?”_

_Her trembling increased. His voice spitted venom, he was definitely beyond angry. The man stood and slowly walked closer to the chained girl, like a predator hunting it’s pray. Ugly tears streamed down the girl’s face, she clasped her hands against her mouth in an effort to avoid any sound to leave it._

_“You are a terribly bad girl, Sa-chan. You dared to bite a client.”_

_She cowered back in a small protective ball but there was nowhere she could go, she pulled her legs closer in an attempt to cover her nakedness and somehow become invisible. The Master stopped in front of her and grabbed the girl by her hair._

_“Bad girls deserve punishment.”_

_The next thing she knew she was on her belly in the edge of the worn out mattress with her knees on the floor, the chains kept her in place,  her face hurt and she could feel the new bruises forming and half of her face began to swell. The taste of her own blood was on her lips. But he was still there, that horrible smell was stronger, the Master wasn’t over yet._

_“Wake up already, scum. Punishment just started.”_

_Before she could process anything she heard the whistle of the whip breaking the air before it hit her bare back. Her mouth opened wide letting out a soundless scream, she had learned long ago to not let a sound out, never, not to talk, not to whisper, not to cry, and definitely not to scream. The whip continued to fall across her small back and each hit was accompanied with the Master’s words._

_Slut._

_Whore._

_Nothing._

_Stupid child._

_Useless pet._

_Toy._

_Finally the whip stopped, she could feel the blood dripping from her back and she couldn’t move, she was limp against the bed. But the Master didn’t leave. She felt the mattress sank next to her head, her cloudy blank eyes looked up to the movement source and found cold gray eyes staring back at her with disgust._

_A shiver went down her spine. The Master took a deep smoke from his cigarette and threw the cigarette butt to the floor; he crushed it with his foot. The man fished another Dunhill out of his pocket and lighted it, he took a couple of drags and released the smoke directly to the girls face, then without any display of emotion he pressed the end of the cigarette against the girl’s bloody back._

_The pain was too much, the burn against her already badly injured back was too much for the girl to handle but she couldn’t find the strength to move away. The Master continued to leave burn marks on the girls back until his Dunhill was gone._

_Everything was blurry, dark spots clouded her vision and the only thing she could distinguish was the pain and the smell. Blood, burned skin and Dunhill._

_She felt strong hands unbuckled the shackles on her wrists and as soon as the chains were no longer keeping her in place she fell to the floor with a loud thud. She stayed there, above the forming puddle of blood. The Master knelt beside her, lighted another cigarette and blew the smoke on her face again._

_“You better behave now… Sa-chan.”_

“Sa…”

 

“…yuri.”

 

“Sayuri!”

 

The images slowed down and she was able to see glimpses of the reality again. Her vision was blurry but she could see something blue in front of her, was it real? She focused on that color and when finally the images stopped she was able to distinguish a pair of concerned blue eyes looking at her.

 

***

 

Akihito sighed at the smell and the foggy office, Asami was really an industrial chimney. Suddenly he heard a thud behind him; he turned around and saw Sayuri down on her knees, shaking violently. The photographer dropped his backpack and rushed to her side, he knelt in front of her and his heat skipped a beat at what he saw.

 

Tears cascaded down her face; she was pale and breathing heavily. But what scared him the most were her eyes, wide in absolute fear and frenetically looking everywhere, Akihito knew she wasn’t seeing him, he knew what the girl saw was seeing was not there.

 

He put his hand over her should to grab her attention but she flinched away and curled in a ball with her head against the floor and her hands around it. The trembling worsened and her breathing became even more erratic.  He lowered his face to try and see her face and noticed she was screaming, but no sound was heard.

 

Akihito made his best to stay calm and the photographer started to talk to her. He kept his voice gentle but firm. He told her reassurances, soothing words and tried to get her attention.  Akihito was not sure how much time it had passed but it felt like hours for him, then the girl began to pull her hair.

 

And he heard it.

 

A long high pitched terrified scream tore the girl’s throat making Akihito jump. He called out her name over and over again, each time more desperate than the last one. Finally, after a rather loud ‘ _Sayuri!’_ the girl uncurled from her ball with a start and her hands against her ears. Akihito looked straight at her terrified eyes and guided her to breath. In and out, in and out. He wasn’t sure if she could hear him but moment later her hands slowly went down until they were against her chest.

 

Cloudy brown/green eyes blinked slowly, he could see how she was getting a grip on reality again so he continued to guide her breathing.

 

“A… Aki… Akihito…san?”

 

Akihito sighed in relieve. She was back. He gave a nod and offered her a small smile, then he saw new tears falling from the girls eyes and she launched herself to his chest, the photographer wrapped his arms around the girl’s body and held her tight while body wreaking sobs shook her body.

 

She cried her eyes out against his chest and he held her for a long time until the sobs reduced to sniffs, then he felt her body went limp against him. Akihito panicked but before he could do something the office door opened.

 

Kirishima stopped on his tracks surprised at the strange view and Akihito took one second to process the situation, he had seen him attend to Asami’s wounds before, he was trained, he could help.

 

“Kirishima! Help! I think she had a bad panic attack and she collapsed and…”

 

Akihito trailed off as he saw the secretary drop the folders he had in his hands to the floor but instead of checking to the girl he went straight to the windows and opened them. Once he was done he went back to the photographer and the collapsed girl, Kirishima knelt next to them and checked on her, she had a pulse, her breathing was labored but she seemed physically unharmed.

 

“It was not a panic attack, she had a flashback triggered by the smoke. She must be emotionally drained, that’s why she passed out. Let’s get her out of here, it still smells like Dunhill.”

 

Without waiting for a response the secretary pulled Sayuri away from Akihito and carried her in his arms. Akihito picked his backpack and the folders Kirishima dropped and followed him out of the office.

 

“Smoke?”

 

“Yes, specifically Dunhill smoke. Asami-sama is really careful not to smoke around her and ventilate the room when the smell is too strong and she is coming but it seems he forgot today.”

 

So it had been that.

 

“Did she scream?”

 

Akihito was surprised by the question, did it mattered if she had screamed? He decided to answer the man, he could ask his own questions later.

 

“Just once.”

 

“I’m impressed you managed to calm her down, last time we had to sedate her.”

 

 Akihito looked at the man in horror. Last time? Had it happened before? Was it that bad she had to be drugged to calm her down? The photographer’s brain raced in anxiety but he pushed it aside, this was not the time. He followed Kirishima through several halls and was pleased to see they didn’t meet anyone else, not even in the elevator.

 

Finally the secretary stopped in front of a door and Akihito recognized it immediately.

 

“Suoh’s office?”

 

“Yes, it will be more private than the guard’s restrooms.”

 

He knocked the door and after a muffled ‘ _Come in’_ both of them entered. Suoh was behind his desk engrossed in some document, he lifted his gaze and saw Sayuri in Kirishima’s arms, he stood immediately. The secretary lowered the girl on the large couch and seconds later Suoh appeared with a blanket, he covered Sayuri’s small body with it.

 

“Takaba-kun, please stay with her. Unfortunately we have to attend an important meeting with Asami-sama in a few minutes. I will inform Asami-sama about this so please just keep an eye on her until we are back.”

 

Akihito nodded and both men left the office leaving a confused Akihito with an unconscious Sayuri. He heard small whimpers and turned around to see the young woman trashing around, he rushed to her side and sat on the couch next to her head and did the only thing he could think of, he passed his fingers through her hair and whispered soothing words.

 

It worked, the guard calmed and her breathing evened out.

 

A million questions rushed to Akihito’s mind again but he knew he was unable to answer them. He kept the motion of his hand while the question he wanted to answer the most left his lips.

 

“What happened to you?”

 

***

 

Asami knew something was wrong the second he saw his secretary and chief of security. None of the men said anything so the three of them attended the meeting as planned. It was beyond boring but he had to endure the nonsense rambling of the Minister if he wanted to keep good business with him. He prepared himself for a long hour.

 

Finally the meeting was over and soon as the Minister was out of view he turned to his men.

 

“What happened?”

 

“Natsume-san had a flashback; she is in Suoh’s office with Takaba-kun.”

 

The three men walked to Suoh’s office as fast as they could. Asami opened the door and the first thing he saw was his kitten sat in the couch, deep in thought and absently stroking the girl’s hair. He got closer and saw her tear stained face.

 

“Akihito.”

 

The photographer snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the crime lord, a relieved smile appeared on his face.  

 

“She stopped shivering a while ago.”

 

Asami gave a hum as an answer. The four men in the office remained silent for some minutes until Asami spoke to Akihito again.

 

“We can´t do anything for her until she wakes up. You said you had something for me?”

 

“Oh, sure.”

 

Akihito stood and reached for his backpack, he took out his laptop and waited for it to turn on. The photographer scrolled through his recent files until he found the one he was looking for. He turned the computer so the three men could see the screen.

 

“I investigated the sniper and found his personal social media accounts. His name is Itou Yuji.”

 

Three pair of eyes widened in surprise, Akihito knew the sight was funny and deserved a photo but somehow he couldn’t find the strength to do it, he couldn’t even laugh.

 

Once recuperated from the original shock Asami cleared his throat.

 

“Kirishima, Suoh, find everything you can about that man. I want to know who he was working for.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

“Kiri…”

 

His next order was cut off by the sound of soft groans, four heads turned to look at the girl in the couch, she blinked her eyes open and slowly got to a sitting position, she pulled her legs up the couch and wrapped her arms around them hiding her face in her knees. They approached her careful to not move too fast and stopped at an adequate distance so she didn’t feel too crowded.

 

“Sayuri-chan, are you with us?”

 

Akihito was confused at the name. Kirishima always called her by her last name and even used _san_ after it but now he was talking to her with such gentleness that the new naming seemed right. Sayuri gave small nods with her head still between her knees. Kirishima sighed in relieve and left the office only to come back minutes later with a cup of tea.

 

“Want some tea? It will help you feel better.”

 

Sayuri hesitated for a moment then uncurled her legs to sit properly and took the cup with shaky hands and a quiet ‘ _Sorry’_. She sipped her tea with her head low, not even once she looked at them.

 

“You want to talk about it? Sayu-chan?”

 

It was Suoh this time, again Akihito couldn’t help but feel confused about the sudden name change. The girl shook her head no and continued to sip her tea. The chief of security dropped his shoulders in resignation.

 

“Sorry.”

 

Her voice was barely there, it was a quiet whisper but in the silence of the office everybody heard her.

 

“It’s not your fault.”

 

Suoh was fast to reassure her but she kept apologizing for some time. When she finally stopped Asami decided it was time to call it a day.

 

“Sayuri, take tomorrow off. You will stay with Kei tonight.”

 

The broken woman nodded and after another small round of ‘ _Sorry’_ she handed back the cup to Kirishima. The secretary offered his hand to her and she flinched, quickly he pulled back his hand and instead signaled her to follow him. Sayuri stood in wobbly legs and followed him towards the door, Akihito saw her raising hesitantly her hand but finally she grabbed the back of Kirishima’s sleeve. The secretary noticed the action but said nothing and just kept walking out the office with Sayuri behind him.

 

Suoh drove Asami and Akihito back to the safehouse, all the way the photographer kept his hand tightly in Asami’s. The questions that flooded his mind all afternoon came back and he thought it was a good time to get some answers.

 

“Sayuri-chan? Sayu-chan?”

 

“She is pretty attached to Kirishima and Suoh, they practically raised her. That’s how they call her out of work.”

 

“What… happened?”

 

“She had a flashback, she used to have them quite a lot but she made great progress with a psychologist, the last one was almost a year ago.”

 

So it had happened before. He wanted to ask about the need to sedate her but decided it was not a good time for that. Instead he asked something he needed to know so he would not hurt her unintentionally.

 

“Does she have more triggers beside Dunhill smoke?”

 

“She used to have multiple triggers but now she only has two. Dunhill is the more common.”

 

Akihito waited for Asami to continue but the crime lord stayed silent. The photographer squeezed gently his hand.

 

“And the other one?”

 

“Never call her Sa-chan.”

 

Akihito nodded; it was easy to avoid those things. He would never call her that and he could make sure the rooms he was in didn’t smell like cigarette. He let his mind wander around for a while, not willing to focus on anything for the rest of the day, he could ask the rest of his doubts the next day. Asami brought him back to reality.

 

“Akihito, I can’t tell you about her past, that’s her call to make but I know you are worried. I will only tell you this…”

 

Akihito nodded again, his full attention to what Asami was going to tell him. The crime lord took his time to continue.

 

“You know I don’t mix my business with prostitution, organ and human traffic.”

 

The blond man gave a small nod not sure where Asami was going with that.

 

“Let’s just say Sayuri is the reason behind that decision.”

 

Akihito’s eyes widened as realization struck his mind, his brain raced with hundreds of possibilities and each one of them was worse than the last one. What kind of horrors she had been through? He couldn’t even image.

 

Akihito pressed himself against Asami’s body in seek of warmth and silent comfort. The raven man let him lean his head against his shoulder while the blonde’s hand squeezed his hard.

 

He thought he knew her, he knew about her work, he knew her favorite book, her interest in mystery stories, her sweet tooth, her chocolate addiction, her fear to ghosts, he knew a lot of things about her but there were a lot of thing he didn’t know about her too.

 

TBC.


	21. Strenght

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito receives a mysterious e-mail while Asami tracks the sniper’s accomplices and realizes what real strength is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Ha, another “it’s-too-late-that’s-already-morning” update. I’m so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, real life has been busy and my brain didn’t want to cooperate, I don’t know if it counts as writer’s block because I already had the chapter drabbled so I knew exactly what I needed to write but every time I tried I wrote 5 words, erased 10, wrote 2, erased 20, no matter what I did I didn’t like the way it turned out so I decided to take a break. It worked just fine, apparently, because now it came out easier and I am happy with the result. Hope you like it too.
> 
> WARNINGS: This chapter contains torture so if you are sensitive to those topics please be careful. You have been warned.
> 
> As in every single chapter let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, feel free to point them out and I will solve them immediately.
> 
> Please enjoy and please do comment, reading your comments always make my day. 
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 21. STRENGHT.**

The man released another grey cloud to the air, he slowly turned in his chair to face the woman standing in front of his desk.

 

“Sir, the surprise is ready.”

 

“Good, make sure he receives it.”

 

The woman shifted uncomfortably in her feet, uneasiness was clear in her face. She took a deep breath and gathered the courage to speak up.

 

“I don’t think is a wise movement, Sir. When the time comes we could lose a valuable ally.”

 

A loud thud made her jump, her boss smashed his fist in the desk with all the strength he could, his face was unexpressive as always but his eyes reflected his true emotions. The secretary lowered her head and couldn’t help the tremors in her hands; she knew those eyes pretty well.

 

“Are you contradicting me?”

 

His voice was low and full of venom, the woman started to shake, her whole body engulfed in fear.

 

“N-no, Sir. I’m... sorry. It was not my intention.”

 

“Then stick to the plan. He can’t go out even if he wants to, he’s too involved in this by now and he knows it.”

 

The woman gulped at the tone but knew he was right, and it was the same for her, even if she wanted out there was no way back. The only wise option was to follow her boss instructions and make her best to succeed, that was the only way she could survive.

 

“Tomorrow morning, sweetie.”

 

“Yes, Master.”

 

***

 

They got out of the car still holding hands; Akihito didn’t want to be away from Asami no matter what so they entered the safehouse like that, even while Asami dismissed Suoh and the bodyguard left, Akihito kept his hand tight inside Asami’s.

 

Akihito leaded the way to the couch and sat, pulling Asami with him. The photographer leaned against his partner’s shoulder and the crime lord didn’t pull away, they enjoyed the quiet comfort for some minutes until Akihito’s stomach decided it was enough.

 

“I’ll go make dinner.”

 

As he stood a strong hand griped his wrist and pulled him back, he landed on Asami’s lap but made no effort to move, the blond stared at golden eyes with a raised eyebrow.

 

“How did you got a photo of the sniper in the first place?”

 

Akihito looked away with a small blush in his cheeks but it was soon replaced by a mischievous grin, he looked again into those golden orbs with confidence.

 

“I kind of took it from your computer last week.”

 

“Why do you disobey me? Your actions will only endanger you so listen to me already and stay put.”

 

Asami was regarded by a fierce glare, Akihito changed his position and straddled Asami’s thighs so he could face him directly, the mischievous grin was gone and a serious expression took its place.

 

“I don’t care; I’m not going to stop. I will continue on my own way no matter if you want it or not and nothing you say can change my mind, its personal now.”

 

Akihito was deadly serious; there was no trace of doubt in his eyes or his voice. The photographer had made up his mind, he was not going to let Hattie go. It was personal. But not because he had been attacked, kidnapped and shot at, no, it was personal because Hattie had done that to take Asami down, it was personal because Hattie had hired a sniper to shot Asami, it was personal because Hattie wanted to kill the man he loved. Asami was the target, and Akihito was going to protect him.

 

Asami stared at those blue eyes in surprise, there wasn’t a hit of fear in them, just pure determination. He was used to the spunk Akihito always showed but this was different, those eyes were the eyes of a man with a mission, the fire in them was one he hadn’t seen before, it was different from the one he had every time he was focused on catching someone in his viewfinder, it was different from the one he showed when pursuing a scoop, it was strong, determined and with conviction. It showed exactly the strength Akihito had in his heart.

 

The crime lord found himself aroused by that stare, it was the fire he had fallen for. Asami let out a low growl and pulled Akihito for a kiss, a fierce kiss, and the photographer didn’t resist, soon enough they pulled away to breath and Asami took that chance to push the blond so his back was flat on the couch with Asami above him. Hands wandered through their bodies, none of them was able to restrain themselves, they knew what they wanted and they wanted it now.

 

Asami palmed the blonde’s arousal through the fabric of his jeans and leaned down to whisper at the photographer’s ear.

 

“You were really helpful today so you get to choose, couch or bedroom?”

 

The crime lord bit at Akihito’s ear and delighted with the blonde’s moans until suddenly firm arms pushed his shoulders hard and his back crashed in the couch now with Akihito above him. Blue eyes kept that fire in them but the desire and lust was present too, in his kitten’s face was a satisfied grin. Akihito lowered his body until their chest were against each other and he bit at the crime lord’s ear, he could feel Asami’s erection though his pants and slowly the boy rocked his hips moaning at the friction.

 

“Couch AND bedroom.”

 

Asami was more than happy to comply.

 

In the end it was couch, hall and bedroom, not that they minded. Asami was wide awake enjoying the warmth on the boy cuddling at his side while said boy was dead to the world using the crime lord as a pillow, with slow and gentle motions Asami traced circles on his kittens back, he enjoyed the way small shivers crept through his spine and small moans left his throat when the raven pressed on some of the new marks he had left on his boy’s body.

 

Unconsciously he buried his nose in the mop of blond hair and inhaled his scent, cinnamon apple flooded his nostrils and a wave of calm took over his body.

 

Those determined blue eyes kept popping in his mind, Asami could not stop thinking about them and the way they made him feel, the thoughts they made him think. At first it was difficult to tell what he felt but after a couple of hours reflecting about it he had just one answer.

 

Pride.

 

He was proud his kitten had such a spirit in him, he was proud that Akihito was not going to let that hat man win. Akihito had proven once again he was strong enough to stand by his side and Asami was sure he could not have chosen a better partner to do just that.

 

***

 

He took the bed blankets and covered the still sleeping boy with them, with a gentle hand the crime lord ruffled softly the photographer’s hair, his mind lost in the peaceful sleeping face. A low grumble caught his attention; Akihito stirred and blinked his eyes open.

 

“Morning…”

 

His eyes were clouded with sleep and his voice was hoarse but Akihito still smiled at him, Asami ruffled his hair again.

 

“Go back to sleep.”

 

As soon as the crime lord left the room Akihito decided to do exactly the opposite and got out of bed, after a fast shower he made his way to the kitchen as his stomach reminded him they had skipped dinner. The blond was surprised to see Asami was still in the safehouse with no other than Kirishima discussing some documents.

 

He greeted the secretary and was taken aback by his appearance, the usually stoic and composed man looked extremely tired, his face was paler than usual and the black circles under his eyes just accentuated that fact. Akihito wanted to ask the reason of his appearance but decided against it, he had a good idea about what it was, instead he asked about something else.

 

“How is Sayuri? She stayed with you, right?”

 

“Yes she did, Takaba-kun. She had a pretty bad night, as expected the nightmares were a constant. Luckily there were no more flashbacks, just a couple of mild panic attacks and by the time I left home she had managed to fall asleep again. But please don’t worry, I’m sure she will be up and kicking by tomorrow.”

 

Akihito sighed in relief, since the last day’s incident he had been worried, he had come to really like the girl and saw her not only as a guard but as a friend.

 

Minutes later Asami and Kirishima left and Shibata entered the safehouse, he was to keep an eye on Aki until Sayuri was back on duty. Akihito was happy to see him again, they had seen each other the day before too but the photographer could only guess how close Asami had been to killing him so been able to see him frequently was a good sign on the guard’s future in Sion.

 

The photographer greeted the guard and made a silent vow to not cause the man trouble. Shibata offered a nod and Akihito smiled in response. Yes, he was happy.

 

***

 

Akihito was mad at Shibata. The man was the most boring human being he had been around of, the guard limited his action to follow him with his eyes at every step he made, when Akihito had suggested videogames Shibata declined the offer, no matter how hard Akihito tried the guard was not willing to cooperate in any conversation and the ‘ _Takaba-sama’_ was driving him crazy.

 

After hours of failed attempts to make the guard open up to him Akihito finally gave up, he searched for his laptop and focused on some pendent work. He was not sure how much time had passed but the photographs he had to edit were finally done so he sent an e-mail to his editor attaching the photographs and asking for more home-suitable work.

 

A new e-mail in his inbox caught his attention, the sender was unknown but the subject was more than interesting: Asami Ryuichi.

 

After a couple of seconds considering the risks he opened the e-mail and his heart skipped a beat. It was a photograph, it showed a perfectly and elegantly dressed Asami with an equally stunning model by his side, the crime lord’s arm was holding the woman’s waist as they entered a high class bar smiling at each other, well, the model smiling and Asami with his trademark smirk.

 

But what made Akihito’s heart stop was not the photograph itself, it was the message that came with it.

 

_“What makes you think you are any different?”_

 

 Akihito knew the photograph was old, he recognized the model and remembered some gossip about them dating some years ago, he also knew the rumors were false but more importantly he knew all of that didn’t mattered because it had been way before he and Asami were together.

 

But still he couldn’t help the heavy feeling in his stomach, that message made his mind wander to places he didn’t want it to go, because he didn’t know if he was different, he was certain about his own feelings toward the man and accepted them but he was clueless about the other way round. Was he special? Did he mean something for Asami? Or was he only a temporary diversion?

 

He didn’t know.

 

***

 

The first report of the day arrived and Asami was not happy with it, thanks to Akihito’s findings they knew the identity of the sniper but since then weren’t able to find out who he was working for, the man proved to be a hard bone to break after his death.

 

Taking a cigarette from his pocket he ordered Tachibana to come to his office and report her own findings, a couple of minutes later the woman knocked at the door and entered.

 

“I’m so sorry, Asami-sama. We haven’t been able to find anything on Midoriya Kojiro’s family, it’s like they vanished.”

 

“A woman and her child don’t just vanish and certainly not them, Kojiro’s wife is an intelligent woman, she must have left a trace. Find it and retrieve them, it’s your top priority.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama. We will find them.”

 

After the woman left Asami put his cigarette in the ash tray, he could not lose time overthinking every single situation, especially if he had personnel working on it. The crime lord stood and made his way to the conference room followed as always by Kirishima, he had an important meeting to attend and a lot of business to get done that day, the underworld and Sion didn’t run on its own.

 

The last report of the day arrived and Asami was happy with it, finally the sniper’s contractors were revealed. The Kubo family. It made sense, a medium size group that dealt with weapons surely had a sniper among them, or at least knew one. The information also confirmed Sayuri’s findings from weeks before, they knew the hat man and must likely were working under his orders.

 

Asami called Suoh to join them in his office, a plan already forming in his head. When the blond chief of security entered the room his plan was complete.

 

“I’m pretty sure the Kubo family is under hiding, he is such a coward he must have abandoned his headquarters as soon as he knew his sniper failed. Kirishima, find his hiding place and prepare everything for an operation. I want blueprints of their location, a tail on every high rank and a warehouse ready. Suoh, get team Neko ready, Shibata will lead this time since Natsume is not available. Also, gather another team for support. ”

 

Kirishima and Suoh nodded.

 

“What kind of operation, Sir?”

 

An evil smirk appeared in the crime lord’s face, his eyes shone in anticipation. He was going to enjoy his revenge.

 

“Kubo himself and the high ranks will be captured, alive if possible.”

 

“And for the rest of the group, sir?”

 

“Kill at sight. We will annihilate the Kubo family.”

 

Kirishima and Suoh smiled at the words, Asami was not the only one willing to let blood flow, the situation was personal for them; no one threatened their boss and lived.

 

Both of them left to fulfill their own assignments and came back a couple of hours later, Asami knew they were successful by the look in their eyes. Kirishima had located their safehouse easily, they were sloppy and left a lot of traces, to get the blueprints was also easy since Kubo was stupid enough to hide in the safehouse were the Midoriya group had ambushed them weeks before and the high ranks were easily tailed, they didn’t even bothered in being alert so the guards had no trouble in follow them around.

 

As for Suoh, team Neko and two extra teams were ready and waiting for orders, the plan for the operation was made. All they needed was the order.

 

But the order didn’t come.

 

“Fine, keep the tails and the surveillance on the safehouse. Everybody else back home, operation Kubo starts tomorrow at 10:00.”

 

Neither Kirishima nor Suoh complained about the order, they knew exactly what Asami was thinking. The crime lord wanted to make sure Akihito was safe during the operation, he was not going to leave him unprotected while he was busy disappearing a yakuza group.

 

The orders were passed to their subordinates and Asami was driven back to the safehouse.

 

Everything was dark and quiet, Shibata bowed and left the building leaving Asami alone in that darkness. With great care to not make noises he made his way to the bedroom where he was greeted by the sight of Akihito sleeping on his stomach, soft snores reached the raven’s ears and he couldn’t help the smirk that formed in his lips.

 

Asami closed the door as quietly as possible and went to the kitchen, as he suspected his dinner was in the table, a note with instructions to heat it next to it. After dinner and a shower, the crime lord returned to the bedroom to find his kitten in the exact same position. Slowly, he climbed to the bed and lay beside the sleeping boy. Unconsciously the photographer snuggled closer to the raven and Asami took the chance to wrap his arms around the slim body.

 

When he was sure the photographer was still deep asleep he nuzzled at his neck, he enjoyed the warmth and let the subtle scent relax him. After a few breaths he tightened his grip of the boy, there was no way he would lose him.

 

“I will protect you, my Akihito.”

 

***

 

A gentle pressure against his shoulder woke him from sleep, after a low groan Akihito blinked his eyes open and smiled at the sight in front of him. Golden eyes watched him and the warm hand over his shoulder moved to caress his face.

 

“Good morning, Akihito.”

 

Asami’s voice was soft and still sleepy, once he was sure Akihito was awake he pulled the photographer against his chest, Akihito’s morning greeting came muffled against his skin.

 

“Morning, Asami.”

 

“We need to get going; you are staying in Sion today.”

 

Without another word the crime lord pulled away and got out of bed, Akihito took some more minutes to brush off the rest of sleepiness in his system and jumped out of bed too, he didn’t ask why he was going to Sion, he already knew the answer: Asami was behind something about Hattie.

 

Both of them got dressed for the day and Akihito prepared breakfast, they ate it in a comfortable silence and after it while Asami grabbed his portfolio and coat Akihito took some snacks from the kitchen _‘If I’m going to be locked there all day at least I will have some junk food with me this time.’_   He put them inside his backpack with his laptop, grabbed his jacket and waited for Asami by the door.

 

When they arrive at Sion Kirishima opened the car door for them, Asami got out first followed by Akihito who patted the secretary’s shoulder as he passed by his side, Kirishima answered the action with a small nod. He still looked like a zombie. They immediately went straight to his office, to Akihito’s surprise Asami didn’t left his portfolio nor his coat there, the only thing the crime lord did was usher him inside while he stayed at the door.

 

“Don’t download any games in my computer this time, kitten.”

 

Akihito saw the smirk in his face before the raven closed the door, hearing a characteristic ‘ _click’_ the photographer ran to the door and tried to turn the knob, it didn’t move, the door was locked.

 

The blond man released a sigh and returned to the desk, if he couldn’t get out at least he could explore the place, Akihito opened all the drawers he could find, he checked every single book in the bookshelves, even looked below the couch determined to find any secret Asami kept in his office.

 

He found nothing.

 

Surprisingly the man only had the normal things normal people had in an office, except for the rather large amount of Dunhill packages.

 

Admitting defeat Akihito grabbed his backpack at took out the laptop, maybe he could get some work done until Asami came back. The photographer went through his mail in search of new workload but found something else, his heart raced in his chest as he opened a new e-mail with the same subjects as the one from the day before.

 

It was another photograph, Asami was in some type of gala event looking stunning as always but this time had another female by his side, it was not the same from the last photograph, he couldn’t recognize her but the woman was clearly flirting at the crime lord. Certainly the woman was very attractive but something else caught his attention, it was the look in Asami’s eyes, it was a look he knew quite well: desire. Again a message accompanied the photograph.

 

_“You are the same, just another one for him.”_

 

His heart stopped. The heavy feeling in his stomach returned and all the questions he had avoided since the last time came rushing back to his mind. _‘Am I any different? What am I for him? A pet? Something to pass time? Something to blow some steam with?’_

 

Suddenly a bunch of memories came back to him, he remembered every single time Asami said ‘ _You are mine’_ to him.

 

_‘A property?’_

 

Akihito was surprised by the burning sensation in his eyes, he rubbed them with his hands and shook his head in an attempt to prevent the tears from falling. He needed to stop thinking about it, there were more important things to figure out like the whole Hattie situation. But he couldn’t make himself to stop thinking about it; everything in the office remembered him of the man, the smell of cologne, the Dunhills above the desk. He needed to get out.

 

As fast as humanly possible the photographer turned off his laptop leaving it on the desk, he grabbed his backpack and searched for something in his jeans pocket. His fingers brushed the cold metal; Akihito took the keys out and unlocked the door, with his backpack over his shoulder he left the office with no destination in mind.

 

The young man wandered through the halls of Sion not paying attention to the ones he encountered, some guards and personnel looked at him with confusion but no one approached him. Akihito walked through various floors and even entered some empty rooms with his brain still racing with the same questions until he peeped through a slightly ajar door, judging by the furniture he deduced it was part of the guard’s quarters, a little living room to gather between shifts. He had entered a couple of those in the floor above, those were empty but this one had a single person in it.

 

Sat cross-legged in the couch was a young woman he knew, as always, she was engrossed in a book.

 

Sayuri.

 

But she seemed different, Akihito couldn’t tell why or what but something seemed odd about her. The photographer kept watching her for some minutes and realized she hadn’t turned the pages of her book, her eyes were glued to them but her thoughts and attention seemed to be somewhere else.

 

Akihito decided to approach her, he opened the door and was surprised that normally alert girl didn’t noticed him, he got closer to the couch and stopped at a good distance, the least he wanted was to startle her. She still didn’t notice him. He decided to speak up but kept his voice as soft and gentle as possible.

 

“That book looks interesting.”

 

She jumped in surprise and dropped the book, after their eyes locked for a couple of seconds she smiled tiredly and picked the book up from the floor. Akihito noticed the smile was forced.

 

“Good morning, Akihito-san. It is indeed an interesting book.”

 

“I bet, your eyes were glued to the same page for about 10 minutes. Gonna change the page anytime soon?”

 

Her face turned a light shade of red as the photographer sat by her side.

 

“My mind was somewhere else...”

 

Akihito gave her a small reassuring smile but it didn’t last long, now next to her the blond could see her appearance close up, and it wasn’t good, she looked like shit. She looked completely exhausted; the young woman had big dark circles below her eyes and her gaze was tired and without the usual spark. It was evident she hadn’t had a good sleep in the past days.

 

“You look worse than Kirishima, you ok?”

 

“The last couple of days have been a little rough but I’m fine, please don’t worry about me.”

 

The photographer sighed. Sayuri averted her gaze and fidgeted her fingers, uneasiness clear on her face.

 

“Umm… Akihito-san… I want to apologize for the incident two days ago, I’m so sorry I caused you trouble and scared you…”

 

She trailed off, Akihito could only look at her like a fish out of the water, he couldn’t believe his ears, she was the one who looked like a train had rolled her over and was apologizing for scaring him.

 

“What? Are you serious? It was a fucking flashback! It’s not something you can control!”

 

“I-I know… but… I’m certain I must have scared you quite a lot and you ended up calming me down and then you took care of me when I’m supposed to be the one to protect you. I’m sorry.”

 

“And I don’t care! You have nothing to apologize for because it was not your fault.”

 

Sayuri opened her mouth to say something more but closed it immediately. _‘It is, because I’m weak’_ She wanted to say but decided it was not a good idea, for sure the photographer would get mad at her.

 

“It was NOT your fault, Sayuri. Look, you don’t have to tell me anything you are not comfortable with but if you want I will listen to you, and even if you don’t I will support you. You told me one day that I was not alone, well, this time is my turn: YOU are NOT alone, I’m here for you. You are stronger than whatever that thing was so please don’t give up or blame yourself. I know I’m not the best option for this because I have my own shit going on and I’m clueless on what to do about it but let’s make another deal: if you want to, let’s fight it together, we agreed to rely on each other before so let’s do it for this too.”

 

Sayuri stared at him with wide eyes and Akihito had no idea of what was crossing her mind. She was absolutely surprised, besides Asami, Kirishima and Suoh no one had ever told her something like that, most guards and workmates had no idea of her situation and the very few who knew acted like they didn’t. To have someone to care for her that deeply was unexpected and overwhelming.

 

They stayed staring at each other eyes for some moments, Akihito started to ask himself if he had mess it up or scared her or something when his own eyes widened. A single tear rolled over one of the girl’s cheeks. _‘I did mess up! I made her cry!’_. Soon that tear was followed by others and a couple of seconds later he could hear the small sobs from the young woman.

 

“Sayuri…?”

 

“Thank you, Akihito-san.”

 

Ok, He hadn’t expected that.

 

“You have no idea how thankful I’m for those words. It’s a deal, I’m counting on you.”

 

And for the first time since he entered that room he saw her smile. A genuine, bright and happy smile. Akihito smiled back while she brushed her tears away, happy tears, Akihito realized. The photographer reached for his backpack and fished something inside it, he took out several bags of chips and other snacks and placed them in the table in front of them.

 

“Want some?”

 

***

 

Asami stared at his target, sat in the back seat of his car the crime lord waited for the last arrangement for the operation to be done. Kirishima was outside the car coordinating the Intel team through his phone while Suoh was confirming the plan with the different teams, all Asami could do was stare to the safehouse the Kubo family was in until it was time.

 

Ten o’clock sharp and Asami gave the order.

 

“Start.”

 

The first team moved, led by Shibata the Neko team entered the terrain without being noticed, a few minutes later the radio in his hands informed Asami Neko team was inside the safehouse and all members were on their positions. Outside the terrain the two support teams were too in their places. The crime lord took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

 

“Go.”

 

That’s all they needed to hear. As soon as the order was made one of the support teams initiated an attack from the outside of the terrain, drawing the attention to them. Inside, Neko team started their own silent attack and made their way to find Kubo, it didn’t take long, soon enough the radio communicated Kubo was captured in the main office of the second floor. The second support team moved as soon as people started to get out from the various escape routes, all the high ranks that tried to flee were captured and the low ranks were killed on the spot.

 

Asami got out of the car as soon as the announcement of Kubo’s capture was made, Kirishima behind him they made their way to the safehouse while the teams cleared the path for them. When he got to the second floor he immediately spotted two members of Neko team guarding a door.

 

The sight that greeted him when entered the room made him smirk. Kubo was all fours on the floor covering part of his face; a forming bruise could be seen in his face with one hand while Shibata and the other member of Neko team held him at gun point.

 

 Shibata approached Asami and Kirishima and bowed.

 

“He tried to resist but was not hard to capture.”

 

The crime lord gave a small nod and signaled the team to step out, his eyes never left Kubo’s. Once here were only Asami, Kirishima and Kubo in the room the crime lord spoke to the captured man.

 

“You’ve been a torn in my side for a long time but this time you made a real bad mistake, Kubo.”

 

The man didn’t say a thing, slowly he sat on his knees while he took in the position of Asami and his secretary. Kubo saw his chance and darted to the window behind him, he was in a second floor but his body crashing to the ground from that height in an attempt to run away sounded much better than being in Asami’s hands.

 

He didn’t make it.

 

A stab of pain bloomed in his right thigh after two steps second before he even heard the gunshot, his body fell to the floor and the man grabbed the injured zone while he cried in pain. Slowly he directed his gaze to Asami only to see the crime lord holstering back his gun while smirking.

 

“I knew you aren’t very smart but that was stupid.”

 

Without another word Asami turned and exited the room, Operation Kubo was a success.

 

All of the prisoners were brought to a warehouse, Kubo found himself tied to a chair in front of his captured men under the intense gaze of a golden eyed demon.

 

Asami asked the man what he wanted to know but Kubo said nothing so the raven crime lord decided to change tactics. One of Kubo’s high ranks was dragged by Shibata to stand in front of the tied yakuza boss only inches away from each other, Asami asked again and when Kubo refused to answer again the high rank was shot in the head. Shibata dragged another man in front of Kubo and the same happened. The procedure kept going until all the high ranks were killed in front of their boss and said boss ended un covered by the splattered blood of his subordinates.

 

Yet he said nothing.

 

Suoh’s beating also did nothing to make the man talk but it did make Asami lose his patience. Kubo was untied and before he could process what was happening he was dragged to stand against a wall, his hands were places above his head and nailed to the wall.

 

The scream he left out when the thick long nails punctured his skin was music for Asami. Yet he said nothing.

 

Asami took off his jacket, vest and tie, he rolled his sleeves up his elbows and took a set of knifes from the nearby weapon table. He could see how Kubo’s body tensed at the sight of the knifes. Asami stood in front of him and started to perforate Kubo’s body, he was careful not to touch any vital point but left the knives in place.

 

“Your entire group is dead, you are the only one left. Every single one of your subordinates were killed on the spot and all of your high ranks were shot in front of you, I suggest you start talking if you want to make this a little more painless.”

 

Asami’s voice was low but the amount of venom it had was overwhelming. Kubo let out another pained cry as the crime lord stabbed another knife directly in his thigh bullet wound.

 

“T-the master… will… avenge us… You will… pay for this…”

 

Asami raised an eyebrow at the name, _the master_ , so that’s how they called the hat man. Twisting the knife in Kubo’s leg Asami was about to say something when Kirishima approached him with a tablet in his hands.

 

“Sir, we have Kubo’s files. Apparently Kubo was promised an enlarged weapon’s market for his cooperation with this _master_ , but also he was promised death if he refused.”

 

Kirishima showed the screen of the tablet to Asami, there were several e-mail from the _master_ and a bunch of photographs of Kubo in different places oblivious to been observed, all of them showed a rifle aiming at him. That was the _master’s_ way to prove Kubo he was able to kill him if he wanted.

 

“It looks to me like your _master_ doesn’t care about you at all. Tell me who this _master_ is and maybe you will get out of here alive.”

 

Kubo spitted some blood to the floor and looked at Asami’s eyes.

 

“I will not say a thing, I’m a strong man, not like Kojiro.”

 

Asami saw red. Kubo’s head bounced with the crime lord’s punches but the man had no chance to make a noise, as soon as the punches stopped he could feel sharp metal against his throat. Asami looked at him with furious eyes.

 

“Kojiro was a strong man, he fought for his family and cared for his men. You fight because you are afraid, you are nothing but a weak scared rat.”

 

The metal against his throat moved and Kubo felt a warm liquid sensation dripping from his sliced neck, he tried to inhale but no air came to his lungs, instead he felt how that warm liquid filled his respiratory system while he fought to breath. Kubo choked on his own blood.

 

***

 

The Sion building was quiet when they came back. Followed by Kirishima and Suoh, Asami was back in his three piece suit with a new shirt since his was stained with Kubo’s blood. His secretary and chief of security went back to their respective offices to wrap up the rest of the day’s work while Asami went to his own office; it was time to pick up his kitten.

 

Asami reached his office door so he took out his key and unlocked it, or at least he tried, it wasn’t locked. Confused by the open door he entered the room only to find it empty, his heart raced and his mind came with multiple theories about Akihito’s disappearance until he noticed the state of his office: there were no signs of struggle, he looked at his desk and there was Akihito’s laptop and jacket. He sighed in relief; the photographer had left the room on his own and was still in the building.

 

The crime lord walked through the halls of his building in search of his missing kitten, despite not knowing where he was Asami was not worried about it, he had experience chasing Akihito. A marvelous sound told him he was in the right direction, laughter, Akihito’s laughter.

 

He walked closer to the room where the sound came and was surprised when another sound joined the last one, it was a sound he didn’t hear much, it was a sound he hadn’t expect, laughter, Sayuri’s laughter.

 

Asami stood by the door and watched the scene, the table was full of opened bags of chips, chocolate and random candy, Akihito and Sayuri were on the couch munching some snacks and chatting happily, both of them too engrossed in their conversation that none noticed him. More laughter filled his eardrums.

 

Asami found himself staring at Akihito’s smile; it was bright and full of joy. Then he remembered the bullets that were directed at the photographer during the last weeks, anger ran through his veins, he needed to protect that smile. The crime lord saw the bright spark in the photographer’s eyes and remembered the fire he witnessed in them before, he needed to protect that fire.

 

Kubo’s words rang in his ears.

 

_‘I’m a strong man.’_

 

He was wrong. Kubo was not strong, strength was not the same as power. Kojiro was a strong man, he took the necessary decisions to keep his family alive but at the same time he never gave up, he fought back and even from the grave he kept fighting and made sure the situation of the rest of the Midoriya group was taken in consideration so they would not end up dead. He was a strong loyal man.

 

Another round of laughter brought him back to the present, then he noticed Sayuri’s own spark back in her eyes. It was surprising how after the hell she lived through the girl still had the determination to move forward, but what was more surprising was Akihito’s effect on people. Just that morning Asami had talked to the young woman and was taken aback seeing her spark gone, he knew it would come back eventually, it always did, but experience told him it would take days, but now it was back, just after one day, and she was even laughing wholeheartedly. And it was thanks to Akihito.

 

_‘A strong man.’_

 

Yes, Akihito was a strong man. Because strength was not the same as power, real strength is the capability to keep moving forward even if the world tries to push you back.

 

The photographer was oblivious of his own strength, he was not only able to bounce back even after the traumatic experiences he had endured, he was able to stick to his own values and morality, he was also able help others find their own strength.

 

Asami stood there in silence, he didn’t want to interrupt the moment, both of them deserved it. Akihito and Sayuri kept chatting and laughing for a long time, completely unaware of the golden eyes watching them.

 

The crime lord’s chest swelled in pride while his lips formed a smirk. Asami knew real strong people.

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are wondering how Aki got hold of Asami’s office’s keys don’t worry, he will clear that up next chapter since Asami also wants to know.


	22. Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mischievous kittens, sleepy nekos and feline team work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Yes, I'm alive!!!! And again I’m late, sorry. At first I was struggling to find my words and everything I wrote turned out as absolute shit, then finally I was able to bribe the writing muses with chocolate and it worked but the next day I got hired in a full time job which lead me to chaotic schedules and zombie-like tiredness, I tried to write at least some minutes every day back home but didn’t make much progress. I’m trying my best to adapt to my new routine and get used to the crazy pace but it will take some time so updates might slow down, I’m so sorry!!!
> 
> But I have good news! I schemed out a lot of future chapters to organize my ideas and now I can tell you the story is going to have like 50 chapters or so. There could be less, there could be more, it will depend on how engrossed I get while writing so I cannot tell a specific number but it will be more or less that amount of chapters. That being said, we are almost reaching the middle of the story now, I hope you are willing to stay with me until the end. 
> 
> As in every single chapter let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, feel free to point them out and I will solve them immediately.
> 
> Please enjoy and please do comment, reading your comments always make my day. 
> 
> I don't own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane-sensei.

**CHAPTER 22. CALM.**

 

A couple of weeks had passed since the disappearance of the Kubo family, and Asami was not a happy man.

 

Every newspaper had the same story on their pages for last two weeks, every newscast reported how Kubo was revealed to be the leader of a yakuza group and how his headquarters had been destroyed and the entire group annihilated by another yakuza family as a revenge. All of Kubo’s legal business went bankrupt and on sale.

 

Under Asami’s orders, prosecutor Kuroda left no trace of the operation that could lead to the crime lord or Sion, it wasn’t difficult, Kubo was not exactly a smart man so all the arrangements were made in two days and soon enough the shooting in a safehouse in the middle of Shinjuku in plain daylight was transformed in a vicious yakuza revenge. Asami was only mentioned as the businessman who bought all of Kubo’s legal business to add to his fortune.

 

But Asami was not a happy man.

 

A couple of weeks had passed and they had the exact same information than before: absolutely nothing. They searched everything they gathered from the Kubo operation but there was not a single lead to the Master, it was like the man could only been seen if he wanted to and vanished afterwards. They had spent the last weeks tracking him down but no one knew where he was, even less who he was.

 

Asami was not a happy man, and the underworld knew it.

 

Every person involved in any underworld activity knew something was happening, Asami had searched for every single one of Kubo’s allies hoping to find any clue, but there was none, no one knew the hat man, there were some groups that knew different _masters_ but when Asami found them they were nothing than perverts and slavery rings; none of them was the _master_ he was looking for.

 

A thick and dangerous feeling covered Tokyo, Asami’s wrath was almost palpable. As consequence, all yakuza and illegal business were made with extreme precaution, nobody wanted to be in the receiving end of that wrath, the rumors of a merciless Asami during negotiations and deals spread like wind and soon enough anyone who had business with the crime lord knew to accept every condition he wanted, their lives were at the line after all.  The underworld went into an unsettling calm and everyone knew the reason behind it.

 

Asami was not a happy man.

 

***

 

Akihito was a ball of excitement.

 

After long weeks of continuous injuries and the annoying buzzing on his ear Akihito was finally completely healed. The bruises were gone, the scratches disappeared, the cuts left no scars behind and the buzz was not driving him crazy anymore. And he was cleared to fully return to work.

 

The photographer was practically bouncing on his feet while preparing his equipment for the fashion photo shoot he was about to make, he couldn’t hide his excitement. He was out of the safehouse, he was not dragged to Sion anymore.

 

He had freedom again.

 

Well, the freedom he could get with a professional assassin following him around all day as his bodyguard. Sayuri never left his side, never. Even inside the safehouse the young woman kept an eye on him at all times, outside the safehouse she accompanied him everywhere he went. The only times the bodyguard left were when he was with Asami.

 

But he found himself not caring about it. The girl was quiet but a good company and when they were outside she was discreet, when in photo shoots or his office she disappeared so no one would ask him about her but Akihito knew that even if he couldn’t see her, Sayuri was watching him.

 

And that was a problem.

 

The main reason behind his overdose of energy was the plans for that night. He had his first stake out since he came back to work. Nothing big or too dangerous, just a small politician involved in drug deals but he knew neither Asami nor Sayuri would agree with him to go on stake outs with the whole Hattie situation unsolved.

 

Asami and his men weren’t able to find anything about Hattie in the past weeks, even Akihito himself had made his investigation, made some calls and pulled some favors but he too came empty handed. It wasn’t over yet and the photographer was conscious about the risk his life was on but he also knew he couldn’t let that crazy hat man to limit his decisions.

 

So he was going to that stake out.

 

And Sayuri was in the way. There was no chance he could go if she kept her eyes on him all day and the photographer knew he couldn’t shake her off, the young woman had proved multiple times she was capable of keeping up with him through the city. Akihito needed to somehow walk out of her radar, a mischievous grin appeared in his face and he tried his best to dissimulate it, he already had a plan.

 

The photo shoot finished on schedule, Akihito packed his equipment and left the building, as expected as soon as he was out Sayuri was by his side. After accepting the young woman’s help to carry half of the equipment bags both of them got on their respective bikes and they drove back to the safehouse.

 

It was still early in the afternoon so Akihito still had a lot of time to set up his plan, he found himself sending the unedited version of the photographs he took earlier to the editor of the magazine so he could pick the ones he wanted, Akihito sent the mail and found again another message from the same unknown sender. As usual he opened it, saw the photograph and the message attached and closed it afterwards.

 

Akihito felt uneasy.

 

Since the first mail he received weeks ago, he kept receiving one every single day at the same hour, each with different photographs and messages but they were all about the same topic: Asami.

 

_What makes you think you are different?_

_You are just another one for him._

_You are just a nice piece of ass for him._

_He doesn’t care about you._

_You are just a pet._

_A bed warmer._

_A whore._

The photographs showed Asami with different company each time, in galas, in clubs. Then, they started to show him in hotels, in suites, and finally, in bed.

 

In bed with someone else.

 

Men, women, didn’t mattered, they were various and each of them more attractive than the last one.

 

A storm of thoughts and questions flooded his brain, he hadn’t been able to locate the source of those mails and he wasn’t going to tell Asami, not because he didn’t trust him, but because if he did Akihito would give away all the doubts that plagued his mind, and he was afraid of the answers he might get.

 

Akihito closed his laptop and decided to get busy making dinner, he didn’t want to think about those mails, about those photos, about Asami, about him. So dinner he made. Sayuri joined him and together cooked a full course Japanese meal. The photographer and the bodyguard sat at the table and ate in comfortable silence, Sayuri offered to wash the dishes and Akihito let her, perfect timing to start his plan.

 

Operation Sleepy Neko was on.

 

Akihito sneaked to Asami’s office and opened a drawer of the shelves. With great care to be as silent as possible he searched with his hands while his eyes never left the door in case the guard entered the room. A mischievous grin formed in his lips when his fingers touched what he was looking for, he took the small bottle, looked at it to confirm it was the right one, put it in his pocket and left the room like he had never been there. Sayuri was still busy with the dishes when he came back to the kitchen.

 

“Want some dessert? I have some chocolate muffins”

 

Her eyes sparked up with the mention of chocolate and Akihito smiled, he knew the girl would never refuse such a tentative offer.

 

“I’ll take those sparkly eyes as a yes, Coffee or tea?”

 

“Tea, please.”

 

“Sure. Let’s watch a move too, it’s your time to pick it.”

 

The guard smiled and nodded, once she was done with the dishes she went to the living room to set the movie. Akihito stayed in the kitchen, he poured the tea in a cup, looked back to make sure he was alone and grabbed the small bottle from his pocket, the photographer poured its content in the tea and mixed it carefully.

 

The blond entered the living room with a tray in his hands, their drinks and muffins were ready so he placed it in the small table, sat in the couch beside her and offered the cup of tea to the girl while he took his own drink with the other hand.

 

“Black tea for you, coffee for me. What movie did you choose?”

 

He didn’t pay any attention to what the girl said, he was completely focused on her drink. Sayuri took a sip of the tea and stopped, then she looked straight at his eyes and Akihito’s heart stopped in his chest.

 

“It’s delicious, thank you Akihito-san.”

 

His heart started beating again. He gave her a bright smile and watched her take several more sips, finally he averted his eyes and focused on his own drink, he only needed to wait. A couple of minutes later he was growing impatient, _does it really takes that long to kick in?_ He looked back again to the girl in time to see her place her now empty cup in the table. Maybe his plan hadn’t worked.

 

And then it happened.

 

Sayuri stopped talking midsentence and her expression changed to confusion; he saw her body wobble and her eyes making an effort to focus. The girl turned to look at him.

 

“A-aki…hito…san…”

 

Her voice was a little more than a whisper, as soon as those words left her lips she stumbled while trying to stand and fell forward. Akihito was quick to catch her limp body before she could hit the floor. With great care he lifted the unconscious girl and laid her in the couch then he put a blanket over her, grabbed his camera bag and left the safehouse.

 

Akihito failed to see green/brown eyes staring at him while he crossed the door.

 

***

 

The warehouse where the sale was going to be made wasn’t too far so in just half an hour he parked his bike and hid it in an alley. Akihito walked around the warehouse to find a spot to get the job done, after a couple of minutes he found it and climbed his way to the second floor of the adjacent building. The view was perfect, he could see anyone who entered or left the warehouse and could see the inside of it through the large windows. The job was going to be easy.

 

The photographer made sure his hiding spot was safe and he was completely out of sight, then he prepared his camera and waited for his target.

 

It was almost eleven o’clock and the target hadn’t appeared, Akihito decided to wait for another hour but if the man didn’t came by then he would call it a day and leave. Asami was at Sion and Akihito knew the crime lord was going to come back to the safehouse at around one or two in the morning and he expected Sayuri to be out for another two hours so he had to be back by that time.

 

In the end he didn’t wait long, fifteen minutes later a black car arrived and his target and his guards got inside the warehouse, five minutes later a large van appeared and a group of men joined him inside.

 

Akihito captured all the photos he could; it was perfect, undeniable evidence. Finally, twenty minutes later both groups left in their vehicles and Akihito was left alone. The photographer packed his camera and decided to wait another five minutes before leaving just to be sure it was safe, he held his camera bag tightly against his chest and focused on any sign of enemies around.

 

“So… the photos are good?”

 

A soft voice whispered against his ear. Akihito jumped and couldn’t help the loud scream that left his throat; it was so loud he was sure the entirety of Tokyo had heard him. The photographer turned with eyes full of fear to face the responsible of his almost-heart attack. Panic transformed to confusion in seconds.

 

Sayuri was standing still with a satisfied grin on her face, looking at Akihito like nothing had happened.

 

“Wha… What are you doing here?! And why did you scare me like that?! What if they heard me and come back?!”

 

“Don’t worry, Akihito-san. I made sure they were gone before approaching you. And consider this payback for drugging me, now we are even.”

 

Akihito stared at her with his mouth gaping like a fish, he was at a loss of words, there were so many things he wanted to ask and say but found himself unable to, he had no clue on where to start.

 

The girl signaled Akihito to the exit and together they made their way back to where his bike was hidden, they walked in silence, Akihito felt uncomfortable, Sayuri on the other hand kept her satisfied grin all the way, it was obvious she was enjoying herself. When they arrived to the alley Akihito saw Sayuri’s bike next to his, they stopped in front of them and Akihito finally managed to control his words.

 

“How did you found me?”

 

“I didn’t find you, I followed you. Then I just kept out of your way while watching you.”

 

“B-but I gave you a… sedative… how did you…?”

 

“Akihito-san, I’m a professional in my field, I developed some resistance to multiple drugs and poisons, also it helped that I didn’t drink even the half of it.”

 

“B-but… I saw you drink it! You tricked me?!”

 

“First of all, Akihito-san, next time you drug someone’s drink make sure they drink it all, I disposed of mine the moment you took your eyes off me. I did trick you but the drug did have an effect, it made me very dizzy and I couldn’t stand for a while so thank you so much for catching me before I hit the floor, it also made my body numb, but it’s nothing I can’t work with.”

 

Akihito stared at her with his mouth agape. They focused on getting their respective helmets to get back to the safe house, the photographer looked back at her again.

 

“Wait, where did you throw the rest of the tea?”

 

The grin disappeared, even in the darkness of the alley Akihito could see the deep blush in her cheeks, Sayuri fidgeted with her helmet between her hands.

 

“There might me a puddle of tea under the couch that I might need to clean.”

 

Akihito laughed.

 

***

 

It was nearly 1:00am and Asami hadn’t come back yet, the floor had been cleaned and the blond man was sitting on the couch with his bodyguard next to him. He wasn’t sure of what to say, Akihito knew he needed to apologize but couldn’t find the right words, they sat in uncomfortable silence until Sayuri broke it.

 

“Akihito-san, my job is to protect you, not to interfere with your job. I’ll be as discreet as possible so please, hadn’t we agreed to trust each other?”

 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have drugged you. But I will not apologize for the stake out, I will not stay here like a scared cat all the time.”

 

“It’s ok, I know.”

 

They fell into another uncomfortable silence for several minutes, both of them clueless on what to say or do next. Again, it was Sayuri who had a question.

 

“Where did you get the sedative in the first place? Did you pickpocketed Kirishima-san again?”

 

Akihito laughed at the memory; he never thought that the stoic secretary could be tricked so easily, the face he made when he couldn’t find Asami’s office’s keys that day was priceless; after Kirishima found out Akihito took them from his suit pocket the secretary made a habit to always keep them in different places of his jacket. 

 

“No, found it in the safe house’s office a couple of days ago.”

 

“Please don’t try to use it on me again, next time you want to go on a stake out just tell me. Please.”

 

And Akihito did.

 

Three days later he found himself in the living room with a blueprint displayed on the table. The day he turned in the photos of the last stake out his boss informed him of another one, a businessman linked with prostitution in his own hotel, then the photographer pulled some favors and got hold of the blueprint of said hotel. Now he was checking it out with Sayuri by his side.

 

The girl kept true to her word, she didn’t interfere with his job. She didn’t stop him but also she didn’t help him, she was only to keep an eye on him and keep him safe.  Akihito told her his plan and the escape routes he had planned and she agreed without any complain.

 

Finally the day came, the business man was having a party in his hotel and it was the perfect time for an infiltration, also the rumors said he used his regular parties to take young girls away as new merchandise. It was a perfect timing to get evidence.

 

Akihito stepped in the living room wearing his suit with his mini camera on hand, a couple of minutes later Sayuri joined him dressed in a red cocktail dress and silver high heels.

 

“Wait, you are entering with me?”

 

“Of course Akihito-san, consider me back up. I will not help you with your job I will just follow your plan and make sure you get in and out without problems, and that will be easier if I’m by your side and the most practical way to do it is if I go with you.”

 

Seeing there was no point to argue Akihito agreed and both of them left the safehouse together.

 

They arrived at the hotel and entered through the back door, going through the route they had already planned they got to the great hall where the party was being kept. With expert eyes Akihito located his target and made sure to keep him on sight all the time while Sayuri grabbed him by the arm and kept by his side. He gave a look to the guests and saw people talking in groups and couples dancing, no one was alone.

 

Everyone knew at least one other person in the party yet no one seemed to mind him. And that was when he realized it, no one thought he was out of place because of the girl by his side, if he had come alone he would have been out of place immediately but Sayuri was holding to him, at their eyes they were another enjoying the party on their own.

 

His target met with another man and after they exchanged some smiles they quietly left the place, using the unexpected camouflage on his favor Akihito decided to follow him, the experienced photographer recognized an illegal meeting when he saw it and the way his target had left with the man spoke volumes of his intentions.

 

The photographer and his companion followed the men in silence, careful to not been noticed. The business man and his partner crossed a hall and entered a room locking the door behind them. Akihito and Sayuri got closer, the sound of Sayuri’s heels echoed softly though the deserted hall.

 

“How are you supposed to protect me with those death traps in your feet? Are you even able to land a good kick in those?”

 

They kept walking; the room where the men were was at the end of the hall just where it connected with another hall perpendicular to the first one. Just when they arrived to the corner of the first hall right in front of the door they heard footsteps approaching their direction from around the corner.

 

“Who’s there?”

 

It was a man, most likely a guard. Akihito’s eyes widen in panic as they had no place to hide, they were going to get caught. But Sayuri was a fast thinker, before he could react the girl turned in the corner and walked towards the guard with confidence, the photographer didn’t miss the deliberated sexy swing of her hips.

 

“Ah! I’m so glad I found someone; I got lost and couldn’t find my way back to the party. I’m so lucky I bumped into such a reliable looking man, could you help me, handsome?”

 

Akihito had to make his best effort not to laugh, the usually shy and soft voice of Sayuri had a seductive tone, it was the exact opposite of the quiet girl he knew and it was hilarious. He saw the provocative way the girl touched the guard’s arm and had to clamp his hand against his mouth to prevent the laughter from leaving his lips.

 

The girl continued her act and the guard seemed to fall for it, with calculated movements Sayuri was able to change positions with the man and now she was facing to Akihito’s direction and the guard had his back to him. The girl made discreet signals with her hands to the blond who took his chance and sneaked behind the guard and to the room next to the one his target was.

 

 Akihito moved through the room, after studying the blueprints of the building for days he had it completely memorized, he knew there was just one way he could enter the room where his target had gone to and that was through the balcony, just a small wall divided one balcony from the other in that floor so it was going to be easy.

 

With expert moves he climbed the small wall and curled in a corner to hide, the curtains where closed but the balcony door was slightly open. Slowly he opened it some more and moved slightly the curtains to take a look inside.

 

It was perfect. Both men were sitting in a table drinking coffee; none of them noticed the small movements of the curtain. Akihito took out his mini camera and snapped some shoots, then he stayed in position and waited patiently.

 

And it was worthy.

 

Not even five minutes later his target left the table to enter the bedroom only to come out again dragging a weeping young girl with him. The girl was obviously scared but by the way her body moved Akihito deduced she was also under some kind of drug to keep her under control.

 

He kept taking photo after photo, the only moment he stopped was when the second man started touching the girl, Akihito’s stomach revolted and after snapping a last photo he made his way back. Once in the safety of the next room he pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts and made the call. Seconds later he popped his head out the door in time to see the guard with Sayuri, he had his arms up and against the wall on each side of the girl successfully cornering Sayuri against the wall. Anger boiled through his system at the sight but calmed as soon as he saw the expression on her face, she was not scared. Despite the lustful look on the guard’s eyes Sayuri stayed calm and kept her act going, Akihito knew that if he wanted her out of that situation he should hurry to get out of there himself first.

 

With great care he exited the room and closed the door while Sayuri kept the guard distracted, everything was going smoothly until a beep was heard, he forgot to turn off his phone after the call he made and now a new message had blew his effort off.

 

The guard turned his head towards the sound and his expression changed immediately after he spotted the blond, Akihito saw him open his mouth to shout something but the man never got a chance to make a sound. A silver shoe connected straight against his chin, then the man was shoved to the ground with a smooth movement, the guard was out cold before he could even hit the ground.

 

“I think that answered my question.”

 

Akihito and Sayuri dragged the unconscious man to the room Akihito just left and locked the door.

 

“We need to get out of here now. It was bad, those perverts have a girl in there. I called a contact in the police and they are on their way, we need to leave before they arrive.”

 

Sayuri nodded and both of them walked through the halls using one of the planned escape routes, soon enough they were out of the building and heard police sirens getting closer as they left.

 

Back in the safehouse both of them got rid of the formal clothes and changed back to more comfortable ones, Akihito took the chance to check the message that almost ruined everything. It was from an unknown number, he opened the message and almost dropped the phone.

 

_‘Bed warmer.’_

And a photo was attached, it showed Asami with a beautiful woman clinging to his arm, he stared at the photo for some time until he noticed the background, it was a charity event he knew Asami was attending.

 

The photo was taken that same night, probably just a couple of hours ago.

 

The thoughts he avoided for weeks came back full force, he doubted himself, he doubted his own worth, he doubted his role in Asami’s life.

 

His train if thought was interrupted with the beep signaling another message, it was from his contact in the police.

 

_‘We got them, the girl is in the hospital but she is going to be fine. Good work, Takaba.’_

Akihito couldn’t help the smile that formed in his face. It was because of moments like those that he loved his job.

 

Sayuri entered the living room back in her normal clothes and without makeup, she studied his face for some moments but said nothing.

 

“I think I owe you a thank you, you really saved me back there so… thanks.”

 

“No problem, Akihito-san, it’s my job.”

 

“This worked out better than I expected, I’m counting on you in the future”

 

“It will be my pleasure, Akihito-san.”

 

“Do you still have to tell Asami about the stake outs?”

 

“I already have, since the last one.”

 

***

 

“Takaba is back in field work.”

 

The man turned in his chair to face his secretary, he released a puff of smoke to the air and smiled. It was time.

 

“And the preparations?”

 

“Everything is ready, Sir. All the teams are waiting for your orders.”

 

The woman looked at him and a satisfied grin formed in her face, her master was pleased with her. The man kept smiling, he made his best effort not to laugh, this time his plan was perfect, there was no way the photographer would leave unwounded. And with the boy out of the way Asami would be vulnerable, and he was going to use that chance.

 

“Good, let’s catch the kitty.”

 

TBC.


	23. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the storm rage on!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> Muahahaha! I'm alive!!! I'm so sorry for the gigantic delay on posting this chapter; real life has been absolutely chaotic. I got used to the crazy pace on my job but a lot of trouble surfaced with my now ex boss and his company, long story short they were ignoring some constitutional job rights and when I spoke up he wasn't happy and accused me of being manipulated by a coworker. He yelled at me, I yelled at him, we yelled at each other... it wasn't pretty... and I resigned, so now I'm back at job hunt with tons of free time in my hands. And I couldn't be happier, after a month in there I was certain that what they told me the company was about was a lie, I still did my job the best I could but I was never really comfortable so my resign was just a matter of time. I hope the next job I find will be actually related to my profession, I mean, I didn't spend 5 years of my life in college to end up doing something different! 
> 
> OK, enough of my rant, so sorry about that but I really needed to push it out of my system. Now, back to our business. 
> 
> I had so much fun writing this chapter! It was a chapter that I had planned a long time ago, since the very beginning of this story I had clear in my mind that this had to happen so to finally see it done is just awesome. Hope you like it as much as I do. Also, I will do my best to update as soon as possible since I don't want to leave you waiting for much longer. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 23. STORM.**

 

The early afternoon sun light entered the office through the large windows, Asami sat behind his desk listening to the report the young bodyguard had. Akihito was currently at the safehouse with Shibata while Sayuri tried her best not to crumble under her boss intense stare, she could sense something wasn't right but she had no idea what could be the cause, the only thing she could do was to stay calm, end her report and go back to safety. 

 

"So three stakeouts with no incidents so far." 

 

"That’s right, Asami-sama." 

 

"Keep it that way. Now, there is another reason why I called you here." 

 

Sayuri gulped, the girl sensed the increasing anger leaking through Asami's pores, whatever it was what the crime lord wanted to talk about she was certain it wasn´t good. 

 

"Last night I went through the safehouse's studio and found a bottle of sedative missing." 

 

Something in her brain clicked, but it didn't help to ease her worries, instead her heart raced like crazy, she knew where the talk was going to and if she was right there was a great chance she wouldn't leave the office unharmed. The poison in Asami's voice confirmed that theory. 

 

"I want you to be really careful with your answer. Why did you drugged Akihito?" 

 

Sayuri.exe stopped working. 

 

It was worse that she thought, the young woman was sure Asami found out about Akihito drugging her and she mentally prepared herself to the consequences of her slip but she had been wrong. Awfully wrong. Asami thought she had drugged Akihito, not the other way round. 

 

 "I... didn't." 

 

"Don't lie to me!" 

 

The raven man slammed a fist on his desk, the sudden rage explosion made the girl jump in surprise, her instincts told her to run but she managed to stay in her place and not to dash through the door. 

 

"I know Akihito can be a handful but I never imagined that you, out of all people, would drug him to keep him at bay. I want an explanation, and it better be good if you want to keep all your limbs where they belong." 

 

"I... didn't drug him. It was … the other way round..." 

 

The aura of danger lessened to be replaced by disbelieve, the crime lord raised an eyebrow and stared into the girls eyes in a silent way to urge her to continue. 

 

“The day of his first stake out he tried to sedate me so he could go alone and move on his own, he slipped it on my tea but I found out right away so I discarded the drink, the little effect the drug had on me was not incapacitating so I followed him without problems.” 

 

“HE tried to drug YOU to keep you at bay.” 

 

“Yes, sir. I… I apologize for my incompetence, I will accept any punishment you see fit”. 

 

By that time the young woman was bowing in a perfect 90° angle, her voice soft, almost a whisper and the redness on her face made her embarrassment evident. The crime lord kept watching her in complete silence for a few moments until he finally spoke.  

 

“Why wasn’t this information in your report?” 

 

“I… I didn’t want Akihito-san to get into trouble…” 

 

“You already had enough punishment, but don’t get me wrong, this happens again and there will be consequences.” 

 

Sayuri raised her head and directed her sight to her boss, she was surprised to see a smirk on his face.  

 

“Of course, Sir.” 

 

“Anything else to report?” 

 

“Yes, Asami-sama. Akihito-san has another stake out tonight.” 

 

“Send me all the information as soon as you two set up a plan.” 

 

The guard bowed and left the office leaving the crime lord alone, Asami reached to his pocket and took out a Dunhill, he enjoyed a couple of smokes by the window contemplating the rushed city below. The smirk stayed in his lips for a little longer while he thought of the blond photographer. 

 

_‘I think my kitten needs a punishment.’_  

 

*** 

 

The rest of the afternoon passed completely uneventful, it was almost boring, meetings, some threats to enemies and lots of paperwork. Asami was smoking his 6th cigarette of the day when his phone beeped indicating a new message, it was from Sayuri. 

 

The crime lord opened it and read the documents that were sent to him , it was the information about Akihito’s stake out. A dirty cop involved in drug dealings, not the biggest job but not bad either, the crime lord eyes stopped when he read the name of the target: Shirai. 

 

He knew that man, the unscrupulous cop had had the guts and the stupidity to try and threaten Asami a couple of years ago, the man was absolutely annoying. Another smirk appeared on the crime lord's face, if someone had the ability to take Shirai down, without putting a bullet in the cops brain, it was Akihito. 

 

A knock in the door pulled him out of his thoughts, seconds later Kirishima was handing him another set of files. 

 

“Sir, the search for the hat man has reached another dead end. Also… I have really bad news.” 

 

Asami stared into his eyes and the secretary continued. Better to do it fast, like a band aid.

 

“All the digital files that were retrieved from the Kubo headquarters had been destroyed just a couple of minutes ago.” 

 

The crime lord took a long smoke of his Dunhill, those were indeed really bad news, not only because they lost the only leads they had on  the hat man but also because of what it meant. The files were in Sion’s private server, the access was restringed to high ranked personell. 

 

The mole was deep inside. 

 

“Track the mole, there should be a digital trace left, find it. This is top priority, the mole could be inside the building. And Kirishima, no one is to know about this, do it yourself, don't...” 

 

A quick knock in the door interrupted him, without waiting for authorization Suoh entered the office, the guard breathed heavily as if he had run recently. 

 

“Sorry for the interruption, Asami-sama. A body was found a couple of blocks away, it appears the man has been dead for at least three days.” 

 

“And why is it my concern? Is he one of ours?” 

 

The bulky blond didn’t answered, instead he approached the desk and handed his boss a piece of paper, Asami’s eyes landed on the bloody message written in it. 

 

‘ _Check’_  

 

The men swore they could hear the gear in Asami’s brain functioning at top speed, suddenly golden eyes widened in realization. 

 

“Show me the body.” 

 

Immediately Suoh took out his phone and showed the crime lord a photograph. 

 

It was Shirai. 

 

“Contact Sayuri, I want Akihito en route to Sion immediately.” 

 

No answer was said but the crime lord knew his men had listened; all three of them went out of the office and made their way to the control room. As soon as they arrived the Intel team was getting everything ready, screens were coming to life and the increasing sound of the keyboards flooded the room. 

 

Kirishima stood next to his boss. 

 

“Sir, we cannot contact Natsume.” 

 

A loud beep caught their attention, in the main screen appeared a map and a red dot in it, but the dot wasn’t still, it moved through the buildings . 

 

“Takaba-sama’s GPS signal disconnected.” 

 

“Natsume’s GPS signal located, she is on the run.” 

 

“Send reinforcements, they are under attack. I want team Neko on the spot immediately.” 

 

A series of orders were barked in the control room, the sound of rushed typing, talking and yelling roared the room. But Asami paid no mind to that, his eyes were glued to the moving red dot in the screen, it was the only signal they were alive, on the run but alive.  

 

Suddenly, golden eyes stopped in shock. A mortifying silence spread through the room, no one daring to breath, every pair of eyes in the room staring at the same place. 

 

In the main screen was the map, but there was no longer a red dot. Instead there was a little text box, the message simple but definitive. Asami coudn't help the worry and anger invading his mind.  

 

‘ _Signal lost.'_

 

TBC. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a short chapter but if I kept it like I had it at first the chapter would have been enormous, so I decided to cut it in two. Sorry for the cliffhanger.


	24. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami moves his best team to try to save Akihito from whatever danger he is in but fighting the unknown is not as easy as it seems, even for Japan´s biggest crime lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> No, you are not dreaming nor hallucinating, this is actually happening; I’m posting another chapter in less than a week span. I know, the end of the world is near, I might have unleashed the apocalypse, so sorry. (Actually not :P)
> 
> This is the continuation of the last chapter, I felt kind of bad to leave that cliffhanger there last time so I just kept working on the next part right away. I had so much fun writing this! The story finally reaches the first mayor event; it’s going to be a bumpy ride so brace yourselves for an action packed roller coaster. (°▽°)/
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 24. MISSING.**

The world stopped, everything seemed to be happening before his eyes in slow motion. The silence lasted just a couple of seconds, as soon as the first order after it came, the whole control room was submerged in a wave of worry and urgency mixed with a little amount of chaos.

 

For the first time in his life, Asami Ryuichi felt lost.

 

His brain shot down, he couldn´t hear the voices in the room and his mind refused to form coherent thoughts. His secretary realized the shock on his boss and called out to him.

 

“Sir?”

 

It was a simple word, three letters, but that was more than enough to take him back to reality. He couldn’t waste time; he needed to get to Akihito and to do that he needed to take action.

 

“I want team Neko there NOW! Sent reinforcements, every man available is to go there.”

 

“Already on it, Sir. Team Neko is ready and in their way, communication line ready.”

 

The secretary signaled to a brunette woman who nodded in recognition and after some types on her keyboard a new sound could be heard in the room.

 

_“Tora, here. Team Neko in the move, ETA 2 minutes.”_

 

Hearing Shibata’s voice somewhat helped Asami to stay calmed, he trusted the man, he was one of the few people he trusted with Akihito’s life.

 

“Focus on extraction, I want Byakko unharmed.”

 

_“Yes, Asami-sama.”_

Those two minutes seemed like an eternity, Asami could swear each second was longer than the last one. Even though there was nothing new there he kept his eyes glued to the main map in the screen, waiting for a red dot to appear.

 

_“Gun shots heard! Active shooting taking place.”_

His blood boiled, he could actually hear it buzzing in his ears. The series of next sentences were a mixture of commands and reports, team Neko engaged the shooting in an effort to locate Akihito.

 

_“We are under direct fire, repeat, we are under attack. There are no signs of Byakko nor Neko.”_

 

“Neutralize enemies, you are authorized to use lethal force.”

 

“ _Yes, Sir!”_

For some moments the only thing that could be heard from the transmission was the unmistakable sound of gun shots and some occasional curses, minutes later silence was back until Shibata´s voice broke it.

 

_“All enemies down, Team spread. Sweep the area to locate Byakko.”_

_“Same here, no traces of targets in east side.”_

_“Hebi here, they are not in the north.”_

_“Kuma here, south is clean.”_

_“Tora here, west is clean too. There are no signs of them here, Asami-sama. Your orders?”_

The crime lord felt like a punch was delivered directly to his gut, Akihito was missing. There were two possibilities: the first one was the worst, he could have been captured by the enemy; the second one was way better, he had escaped. Asami decided to focus on the best thing out of those two scenarios, it meant that Akihito was alive, and if he was alive Asami was going to find him.

 

Taking his chances with the second option Asami made his decision.

 

“Neko might have been able to take him out of there and ran her contingence plan. Go to safehouse 2.”

 

_“At once, Asami-sama.”_

 

The line was filled with sounds of vehicles racing at top speed, Shibata reported their location every couple of minutes despite Asami could see them in the map, four red dots were moving through Tokyo very fast.

 

Asami located the safehouse in the map and saw the approaching dots, they were close, Akihito was close.

 

_“Gun shots heard, persecution engaged.”_

The crime lord closed his fists, he was beyond angry at that point, how did the attackers knew about the safehouse? It was high leveled information. His enemies were good and were moving fast. Who was he confronting? Why did they seem to be ahead of every move he made?

 

His brain raced with a million of possibilities ignoring the sound of gun fire in the background. And then it clicked.

 

‘ _Check’_

A simple word written with blood in a piece of paper left in Shirai’s body. His enemy was playing chess with him and Asami had to admit, even if he didn’t liked it, that they were good. He was in a bad place even before starting the game, the opponent wasn’t one move ahead, they were at least two or three. Asami couldn´t plan ahead because he lacked of information about his opponent.

 

 They had the advantage of the anonymity.

 

Asami was facing the unknown.

 

And he was losing.

 

The increasing sound of gun shots brought him back to reality, team Neko had engaged another shooting, the reinforcements joined them and after a few moments the reports of decreasing enemies were heard.

 

Asami didn´t need the report to know what he needed to do, leaving the sound of the confrontation behind he went out of the control room making his way to his car. He needed to be in the field, he was going to find the photographer himself.

 

Kirishima was right behind him followed closely by Suoh, both of them glued to their phones while they barked orders to their respective teams. They arrived at the parking lot and entered a BMW, Suoh as the driver, Kirishima by his side while Asami pierced the back of their heads with his intense stare.

 

 

“Sir, team Neko is down, unfortunately they are hurt so they are unable to continue the search, part of the reinforcements took over their mission.”

 

The secretary didn’t get an answer but he knew his boss heard him, he could feel the tension fill up the closed space of the car. Suoh drove through the streets of Tokyo at top speed, he was sure he had broken every single traffic rule out there but all three men couldn’t care less, his phone wet off and after a brief exchange with the person in the other line he hang up.

 

“Go there.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

The bulky man stepped on the gas as hard as he could, the BMW’s engine protested at the treatment but the car sped up, there was no time to lose. A persecution meant Takaba was certainly alive and fighting back.

 

That was a good sign.

 

They knew they had reached the persecution zone when the sound of nearby gun shots could be heard above the rumble of the engine. Soon enough they were able to see two cars that belonged to his men firing at three black vans, a forth one was by the side of the road engulfed with fire, a couple of meters away team Neko’s car was upside down.

 

Suoh drove expertly until they reached his men and Kirishima opened fire to the vans through the window, one of the vans lost control when one of its tires got shot and the vehicle ended up with the wheels facing the night sky.

 

Two vans left.

 

Asami found curious that the back fire they were receiving was minimal, instead the attackers were focusing their own fire to something in front of them but Asami couldn’t see what it was from that distance. They decided to find out later.

 

Kirishima shot another tire and one of their men shot the driver of the remaining van in the head, the two vans stopped in the middle of the road and nine men got out of them, this time all of them fired directly to Asami and his men.

 

The shooting was brief. Suoh stopped the car at a reasonable distance and the three men descended, they used the bulletproof car as a cover while they covered the enemies vans, and men, with bullet holes.

 

Asami holstered back his gun and approached the bodies, all of them unfamiliar faces. One of his men approached him and reported.

 

“Asami-sama, some of them ran away.”

 

“Have you secured the target?”

 

“N-no, Sir. We couldn’t find them. I’m afraid Byakko-sama and Neko-san are MIA.”

 

MIA.

 

Missing in action.

 

Asami didn’t like that word, he refused to believe Akihito was missing. The crime lord made his way back to the BMW and as soon as he entered the vehicle ordered Suoh to drive him to safehouse 2.

 

The rest of their enemies hadn’t run away, they were able to outrun them and continued to pursue Akihito, he needed to move fast, there was still time to save his kitten.

 

The ride was fast, he didn’t even had the time to think about the next step until they reached the safehouse and joined some of his men who were fighting some attackers off. The car stopped and Asami got out, the first thing he saw were the bodies in the ground, good, those idiots deserved death for messing with him. The second thing he saw were the dancing lights through the safehouse windows and glass shattering everywhere.

 

Someone was inside the safehouse and they were under fire.

 

But he couldn’t approach the house, it was a war zone. He unholstered his gun again and fired. Bang. A new body in the ground. Bang. Someone lost past of his head. Bang. Bang. Bang.

 

It was mechanical, emotionless. The only thing he wanted was to get rid of all of them as soon as possible so he could go to Akihito and blow the brains out of whoever tried to lay a finger on him.

 

More reinforcements arrived and finally Asami was able to get close to the house. He noticed the dancing lights and the shattered glass had stopped. It could be either really bad or really good. It could mean Akihito was captured or dead but it could also mean Akihito was safe and their attackers were rotting in hell.

 

He needed to find out. Asami made his way to the hose as fast as he could. Kirishima and Suoh were right behind him, looking for any enemy that could be a direct threat to their boss. The three men approached the house.

  

Until they couldn’t.

 

Until there was no house to approach any more.

 

Until a bright light and a loud sound followed by a pressure wave hit them.

 

The safehouse exploded.

 

It took Asami some moments to register what had happened. Luckily for the three men they weren’t close enough to the house to be killed, the explosion had reached them but only left them with some bruises, various scratches and a confused brain.

 

The next events merged in a blur, Kirishima had gotten him and Suoh back to the car, the secretary had checked them both but found no injuries that needed hospitalization. The army of guards cleaned the zone but found no trace of the photographer, the remaining enemies were killed and an awkward silence fell on place.

 

That was when Asami found himself leaning casually against the car with a Dunhill between his lips. He tried to make sense of the events and its outcome but found himself unable to. He scanned the sight again with hopes of finding the answers he was looking for until his eyes feel on the windshield of his car.

 

A piece of paper was taped to it.

 

Was it there since they arrived? Who put it there? Another set of unanswered questions flooded his mind. He took a long smoke of his cigarette and took the paper, just as he expected the paper had an inscription on it. A blood written inscription.

 

_‘Checkmate’_

  

Anger was an understatement, Asami was beyond furious. He wanted nothing more than to find the culprit and give them a slow painful death.

 

Kirishima stood in front of him and studied the piece of paper, his stoic expression unwavering.

 

“Sir, there is something you might like to see.”

 

Asami followed the secretary to the safehouse, or what was left of it. Burned wood and deformed metal were evidence of the explosion; the house was almost completely gone, except for one part.

 

The parking lot.

 

There was shattered glass and parts of the house but the damage was not as severe like in the rest of the house. Asami saw the vehicles and all the cars had their windows broken but they were still on good conditions. The motorbikes were on the ground, probably they were thrown by the force of the explosion. The crime lord kept walking through the parking lot until his feet stopped abruptly where the place had been less damaged.

 

A long black line was visible in the ground, a tire mark. Next to it Asami saw little black plastic pieces.

 

“A bike is missing, Asami-sama. And the GPS device was shattered.”

 

But what caught Asami’s attention was not the tire mark nor the GPS pieces, it was what stained the floor next to them. Red, shiny and fresh.

 

Blood.

 

A puddle of blood.

 

“Akihito, where are you?”

 

For the second time in his life, Asami Ryuichi felt lost.

 

TBC.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like my little torture. (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
> 
> Byakko = Japanese and Chinese mythological creature. Literally means “White tiger” and its represented with, obviously, a white tiger. It is associated to the west and is used as a symbol for lightening, air and autumn. The legend says that its roar can call tempest, it is considered a fierce creature responsible of electric storms. Despite his fierce nature, the Byakko is considered a symbol of virtue and peace and was believed to only reveal himself to emperors whose reign had those characteristics.


	25. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catch a dirty cop and maybe some sushi after it, a perfect night for a certain photographer. A trap, shootings, crazy persecutions and explosions were not in his list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!! 
> 
> And I’m back with another chapter, I was so excited about this chapter that I just couldn’t wait to write it, I enjoyed so much to write this, it’s another chapter that I had planned for a really long time so I hope you like it as much as I do. Also, I wanted to tell you that I have a new full time job and that means I will not be able to write until the weekends so updates might slow down again for some time until I get used to the new pace. So sorry about that but I’ll make my best to keep up with weekly updates, wish me luck.   
>     
> Now, ready for more action? I know I am. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately.    
>     
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts.    
>     
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 25** **.** **SCARS** **.**  

 

His camera was ready, finally.  

 

Akihito spend half of the afternoon deciding on which camera to use for that night’s stake out, the mini would be handy if he needed to make a run for it but the picture quality was not the best, it was going to be dark so maybe he could try one of his new lenses but the camera they were for was a little too big and it could make things complicated, in the end he stayed with his old reliable camera. 

 

The moment he closed the camera bag the safe house’s door opened and Sayuri joined him in the living room. 

 

“Welcome back! I just finished getting my camera ready. How was your meeting with your highness?” 

 

The girl averted her sight and fidgeted with her fingers. 

 

“Mmm… it was ok.” 

 

“You don’t sound convincing, what did he do? I’ll kick his royal ass if he threatened you” 

 

That took a small laugh out the young woman, finally she looked into his eyes and relaxed. 

 

“Why do you assume it was his doing? I could be the one who did something.” 

 

“No, you are to kind for that and even if you did it would be written all over your embarrassed red face.” 

 

A knock in the door interrupted their conversation, Shibata entered the living room and after a quick exchange of information with Sayuri he said his goodbyes and left leaving the photographer and his bodyguard alone. 

 

Akihito continued to tease Sayuri for some more minutes until they decided to finally define the plan for the stake out. 

 

It was quick and simple, the place was an abandoned warehouse near Tokyo bay, Akihito knew the zone pretty well so he already had some escape routes in place and some hiding spots located. They would arrive early, set in place, wait for Shirai to arrive, snap some pictures, wait for him to leave, return to the safe house and maybe have some sushi for dinner. They were using only Akihito’s Vespa to get there since the photographer insisted that way they could keep a low profile in the zone and it was easier to hide. 

 

Simple. 

 

They spent the rest of the afternoon getting everything ready, Akihito double checked his equipment while Sayuri made sure his bike was in good conditions in case they needed to speed up. 

 

Once everything was ready Sayuri sent all the information to Asami before they left. The streets of Tokyo were empty at that time of the night so they arrived to Tokyo bay pretty quickly, Akihito hid his Vespa and both of them walked the rest of the way to the warehouse, they arrived to the place and make their way through rows of shipping container until they reached the correct building. 

 

The photographer found a perfect spot to hide and take the shoots in the second floor, they climbed their way up and in no time the blond was set in place and ready to catch the bad guys. As soon as he was in a comfortable position to wait Sayuri handed him an earphone. 

 

“Use this. I will be in the floor above so I can have a complete view of them and you, we will communicate through that earpiece.” 

 

Akihito looked at her with a confused expression but took the object and placed it in his ear. 

 

“We haven’t used these before, why now?” 

 

“Just to be safe, Asami-sama’s orders.” 

 

The young woman turned and left, Akihito watched her until she disappeared in the shadows, the warehouse was in complete silence, the blond paid attention but not matter how hard he tried he wasn’t able to hear Sayuri’s footsteps anywhere. A couple of minutes later he was thinking on calling her name to be  sure she was still there until he heard her soft voice through the era piece. 

 

“I’m on place.” 

 

“How did you get there? You made no sound at all! Are you a ghost of something?” 

 

“I assure you I’m part of the living realm, Akihito-san. I just have a lot of practice in being quiet.”  

 

“Hey, you never told me what that bastard did to you. I wanna know, and before you refuse to tell me I’ll warn you that I will keep asking all night long until you tell me.” 

 

“Fine… he… thought I had used the sedative of the studio on you… and I had to tell him it was the other way round…” 

 

A fit of laughter answered the young woman through the communication line. She said nothing until the photographer composed himself again. 

 

“It’s not funny! It was so scary!” 

 

“That’s what makes it funny! I wish I saw his face!” 

 

The laughter returned but this time it lasted a shorter amount of time. 

 

“And? What did he told you after that?” 

 

“…” 

 

“Wait, did he threaten you? He got mad at you because of something I did?” 

 

“No, he got mad because I didn’t do my job properly and allowed a situation that could have been worse to happen.” 

 

“He is unbelievable! I will kick his royal ass when we return to the safehouse!” 

 

They kept chatting for some time while waiting for Shirai to arrive, the time passed by and there were no signs of the dirty cop, Akihito started to grow impatient while Sayuri kept her eyes open searching any possible threat or the arrival of the target.  

 

There was a strange feeling in her gut, a bad one. Something was telling her to take Akihito and leave. 

 

Just as she was about to tell Akihito to call it a day the young woman saw an upcoming car, Akihito saw it too and focused his camera to start taking photos. 

 

But the feeling was still there, and it was getting worse. 

 

The car stopped in the middle of the warehouse and stayed there completely immobile, Akihito took some shots of the car and the plates while he waited for the driver or the passenger to come out.  

 

In her position Sayuri observed the vehicle but could not distinguish its occupants, the bad feeling increased as seconds went by until she saw them, it was just with the edge of her eye but as soon as she spot them everything clicked in place. 

 

A number of cars arrived and hid in the nearby buildings and a large group of armed men started to approach the warehouse. 

 

It was an ambush. 

 

Sayuri stood up immediately and left her position as fast as she could. 

 

Akihito was growing impatient again, the car was just standing there and an unmoving car was not a front page material. His brain started racing with possibilities for the scoop until a voice talked in his ear, soft but with a tone of urgency. 

 

“Akihito-san, we need to leave, it’s an ambush!” 

 

The photographer took no time to pack his camera back into his bag and in a matter of seconds he was already sneaking through the building to get out. He was moving across a large corridor when a sound behind him alerted his senses and the blond turned his head to see two men chasing after him, he sped and ran as fast as his legs allowed him to until another man blocked the path. 

 

He was surrounded. 

 

Akihito changed his camera bag to a more comfortable position and launched himself to the man I front of him. He needed to pass him before the other two caught him so a quick fight was his better option, using his slender and agile body he managed to place himself in advantaged position against his attacker and kicked him hard in the groin, the man groaned and feel to the floor while Akihito wasted no time to resume his race out. 

 

Akihito managed to exit the warehouse and started to make his way through the shipping containers in an attempt to get to his Vespa, he could hear the men following him close but also a lot of other confrontation noises nearby, a sudden gunshot sound startled him and made him lose some speed, he decided to ignore it and get out of there as soon as possible but he found himself tackled from behind. The men chasing him had finally reached him. 

 

It was a two vs. one fight but Akihito was not willing to make it easy, they traded some punches and the blond was able to connect a couple of kicks, he knew he wasn’t specially strong but he had resistance and agility so he used it on his favor. After a rather powerful punch to one of the men Akihito focused to fight the other one while the first man tried to make the world to top spinning. Finally Akihito was able to knock out his aggressor. Just one more was left. 

 

The photographer turned to face the last man while he was still dazed but found himself in front of something different instead. A gun was aiming to his face. 

 

He froze. Fear crawled through his body while his mind tried to process the turn of events. The look in the man’s eyes told him a very bad fact, the man was going to kill him, there was no sign he was going to be kidnapped or that he was needed alive, no, the confidence and blood lust in those eyes spoke volumes. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and no way to live. 

 

His vision narrowed to the gun barrel, all he could see was the object that would take his life in a couple of seconds. Everything was over, that was it. But his life didn’t pass before his eyes, there was only one thing in his mind, only one thing he could think about in his final moments. 

 

_‘Asami’_  

 

Time seemed to slow down and with a horrified expression he saw in slow motion how the man’s finger pulled the trigger. 

 

Bang. 

 

He heard the shot but felt no pain, his expression transformed from fear to relieve in an instant. Like fallen from heaven Sayuri landed in front of him and a soft surface cushioned her fall. Except she had jumped from the top of the containers next to him and landed right in the man´s head, successfully diverting the shot and knocking the man out. 

 

Without a word the girl took Akihito’s hand and started running. 

 

“Communication lines are not working; they must have blocked our signal.” 

 

That was bad, without the communication lines there was no way they could contact Asami or ask for reinforcements. They were alone. 

 

They moved through the labyrinth of containers without encountering more pursuers, they focused on be as silent as possible and leave the commotion sounds behind, maybe they could get out easier than they thought. 

 

Bang. 

 

Maybe not. Akihito stopped in his tracks as the bullet embedded the container behind him, he felt Sayuri’s hand slipping away from his only to somehow materialize a gun and shot their attackers. It was quick and effective, one bullet one man down, another bullet another man down. 

 

“How did they found us? We left them behind in this fucking labyrinth!” 

 

Sayuri sounded angry, that was a first for Akihito. They kept moving until they encounter another group and the events repeated two more times. 

 

“This can’t be a coincidence, they are finding us somehow.” 

 

Suddenly the young woman stopped abruptly, her eyes wide in realization. 

 

“Shit.” 

 

Akihito saw her grab her ear piece and then she took Akihito’s, she threw them to the ground and smashed them with her feet. She proceeded to do the same with their phones. Akihito didn’t even complain about his shattered phone in the ground, he was to shaken to argue, the only thing the photographer managed to do was to stare at her with a questioning glare. 

 

“The ear pieces and our phones can be traced by GPS. “ 

 

It took only a second for Akihito to process the information, his eyebrows raised in alarm at the implications. Not much people had access to his whereabouts information, even less had the codes to track his phone at will and even less had the power to track down Asami-approved mission gear. 

 

“The mole is someone with access to Sion’s private server.” 

 

It was not a question, it was a statement. Sayuri nodded in answer. 

 

“Forget the Vespa, it could be bugged too. Go to the street.” 

 

 They ran until they reached the nearest street, there were no people on it, only some parked cars. Also their pursuers seemed to be lost behind. Sayuri approached a nearby car and broke the window with the back of her gun, opened the door and urged Akihito to enter the car. 

 

The photographer climbed in the passenger seat while the young woman had her head under the wheel trying to wire the car to start the engine. 

 

Gun shots were heard again but this time they were not directed to them, it sounded like some kind of war between large groups of people. Akihito spotted a group of armed men running through an alley towards them, they noticed the blond in the car and aimed their guns at him. Akihito crouched as fast as he could to avoid the bullets. 

 

“Hurry! They are coming!” 

 

Like hearing his urgency the engine came to life and Sayuri emerged from her position, in a swift movement the guard aimed her gun and shot repeatedly with one and while the other one released the hand break   and moved the gear lever, second later the tires sped and the car was gone leaving tire marks behind. 

 

“You might want to hold into something.” 

 

Akihito looked at the girl after her suggestion with a quizzical look, he sat properly and was about to ask her why when the car turned in a sharp corner, after that the photographer realized it was a really bumpy ride despite being on the streets and not some irregular terrain. They were being chases, yes, but the look in Sayuri’s eyes and the strange movement the car made from time to time told Akihito something. 

 

“Wait, you know how to drive, right?” 

 

“Nope.” 

 

“What?! Then how the hell did you started the engine? More important, how the hell are we going to get out of this mess if you have no clue what you are doing?!” 

 

“I’m improvising! My only reference here is Fast and Furious… you should be thankful we have at least that!” 

 

“That’s not a good reference at all!” 

 

“It’s working so far!” 

 

They turned another corner again at top speed and Akihito grabbed to his seat like a scared cat 

 

“You are going to kill us! Why did Asami let you work for him if you don’t drive! It’s a basic skill!” 

 

“That’s why I drive a bike!” 

 

Another turn and then some hard bumps and Akihito started to think he would have been safer with the men with guns.  Suddenly the back window shattered revealing their pursuers were behind them in cars of their own. 

 

“Shit. Akihito-san, take the wheel.” 

 

Before he could complain the girl had already let go of the wheel and half her body was outside the car while her foot stepped in the throttle. Akihito took the wheel and prayed for their lives while from the corner of his eyes he saw Sayuri had somehow materialized another gun and was firing back at their attackers. 

 

“Next corner to the right! Avoid the bridge!” 

 

Akihito nearly heard her above the gun fire and the blood rushing in his ears but did as he was told, he decided to focus on keeping the control of the car and don’t crash while Sayuri handled the back fire and the navigation. He was conscious of the girl recharging her guns once in a while and wondered where did she carried all the ammo. 

 

After some moments the gunshots stopped and Sayuri finally came back inside the car to Akihito’s relieve, but also she came back to the front of the wheel much to Akihito’s concern. 

 

“We lost them, I don’t know why but they seemed to be attacked by another group. It’s our chance to run a contingence plan.” 

 

“Where are we going?” 

 

“Safe house 2.” 

 

The car came to a stop with a skid and the photographer found himself getting out with shaky legs, Sayuri led him to a big traditional house. 

 

“We can´t stay long, I sent the contingence plans to Asami-sama before we left. The mole might have access to them too so it’s not safe. Hurry up.” 

 

Sayuri led the way through different rooms of the house searching for something, finally it was in the second floor in a room that seemed to be a studio where she searched through the drawers and found what she was looking for: a key. 

 

Akihito wanted to ask why that was important but decided against it, he needed to trust her and that was not the time to satisfy his curiosity.  

 

Another round of gunshots was their signal to run again, they went through the hall and encounter a couple of men approaching them, they moved fast and in a couple of seconds Sayuri was knocking them out. Akihito stayed behind and saw another man coming, the photographer didn’t doubt as he kicked him hard before tossing him to the ground.  

 

He looked up to the young woman and received an approving smirk in response; they made their way through the house and quickly fell in a system. Sayuri shot the armed men while Akihito covered her back and together they fought the unarmed groups that came too close. 

 

Soon enough they reached the first floor leaving a trail of unconscious attackers behind.  

 

Sayuri instructed Akihito to go to the parking lot but their way was obstructed by another group, the fight was longer and harder, Sayuri and Akihito were getting tired and their opponents were new each time which meant they were at full capacity. Akihito and Sayuri were on disadvantage.  

 

Tiredness caught up with Akihito and the photographer found himself in a dangerous situation, his attacker had a knife and was pretty strong but the blond had no intention to give up even as his muscles screamed and burned. He managed to dodge another strike and saw Sayuri confronting two more men. He was alone in this one.  

 

He dodged another strike and then another one, he spotted an opening and punched the guy in the jaw. That made nothing to his attacker, the man took another step and kicked Akihito in his stomach, hard. The photographer stumbled and fell to floor, he looked up and saw the man above him with the knife ready to attack. 

 

For the second time in the day Akihito thought his life was going to end and for the second time the only thing he could think of was Asami.  

 

There was no way he could dodge that strike, he saw the knife go down but something blocked his vision, just like last time the same angel fell from heaven in front of him but this time he didn’t feel relief, the only thing he could feel was fear and panic as he saw the young woman’s clothes get red. 

 

She fell from heaven to take a knife in his place.  

 

The next events happened in a blur, Sayuri managed to push away the attacker and after a heated battle the man laid in the floor with his own knife buried in his chest. The young woman took his hand and pulled him to stand. 

 

His brain was in shock but the sight of determined green/blue eyes grounded him enough to pay attention again to his surroundings. 

 

It was quiet. 

 

Unusually quiet.  

 

The photographer thought it was strange, the house was a war zone a couple of minutes ago so the complete silence was not an expected outcome. It couldn’t be good. Sayuri’s words and tone of urgency confirmed his suspicions. 

 

“Run.”  

 

Both of them ran at top speed without looking back, none of them knew what they were running away from but they were certain they didn’t want to find out. Sayuri and Akihito arrived at the parking lot, Akihito stared mouth opened at the quantity of cars and motorbikes there, the young woman went directly to a metal box in the wall and used the key to open it, inside were a lot of more keys. She took one and signaled Akihito to follow her. 

 

They were halfway through the parking lot when it happened. The ground shook and a loud explosion threw them to the ground. 

 

The world spun before his eyes and everything sounded like he was underwater, the photographer looked around and saw all the cars window’s shattered and the bikes in the ground, dancing flames crept through the door but didn’t advanced further. A gentle but firm hand grabbed his arm and pulled him to stand, he looked at the owner of said hand and contained a breath. 

 

Sayuri looked pale under the dust and blood on her face but her eyes kept the same determination, with a firm tug the girl urged him to keep moving. She went straight to a specific black bike on the floor, raised it right and then laid down in the floor, her hands under the bike searching for something.  

 

Akihito watched in a mixture of worry and awe as the girl removed a little black device with a victory smirk on her face and a poodle of blood below her right side abdomen. Sayuri stood with some difficulty and shattered the device with her feet just like she had done with their earpieces and phones before. 

 

The young woman looked around and grabbed a helmet which she tossed to Akihito indicating him to wear it, she got on the bike and waited until Akihito sat behind her firmly holding her waist to sped up and leave what was left of the safe house behind. 

 

Akihito grasped at the young woman's jacket  like his life depended of it but found himself incredibly calm, once the fear passed he was left feeling nothing, he was numb. 

 

They arrived at an apartment complex, it looked completely normal so Akihito had no clue on why they were there, he guessed it was another safehouse of some sorts. Sayuri lead him through the back and they entered the building without anyone noticing, they went up using the stair and in the third floor they made their way through the hall to one of the doors. 

 

Much to Akihito's surprise Sayuri took out a key chain from her jacket pocket and opened the door, what Akihito saw left him speechless. It was a completely normal apartment, it was spotless clean but with evident signs of someone living there. 

   

Akihito entered behind the girl and took a quick look, it was nicely furnished with some kind minimalist style, walls white with just some color accents here and there. But what grabbed the photographer's attention was in the living room next to the genkan: a small wooden family shrine with a single picture on it, a man with short black hair smiled widely with his green eyes behind a pair of glasses showed nothing but pride, next to him a beautiful woman with long dark hair looked at the camera with a smile of her own, and between them a little girl hugging a stuffed bunny  with her tiny hands, she was embraced carefully by her parents, a big bright smiled lighted her face with a palpable joy that her eyes also showed, a left brown one and a green right one. 

 

It was Sayuri. 

 

 Akihito was in Sayuri's apartment. The photographer turned to face the girl and saw her moving all over the place, she was pale and sweeting lightly, her left hand grabbing the right side of her abdomen with blood leaking through her fingers. She went to her bedroom and emerged with a bag, opened it and handled Akihito a gun. 

 

"We can't stay here either, if the mole has access to Sion's private server they can figure out where I live so they might come here too. You know how to use a gun, right? This one is light weight and easy to use, please keep it close at all times, don't worry, I don't expect you to use it but please, just to be safe." 

 

Akihito took it with hesitant hands and tugged it in his jeans, Sayuri nodded in approval and went to another room, once she emerged from there she had a helmet on her hand, she took the bag and leaded Akihito to the parking lot, there the photographer recognized the guard's bike immediately.  

 

"We will be riding in different bikes, it's safer that way. If something happens I will make some time while you escape, please if it comes to that go to this direction, here are the keys. There you will be safe for a while, you will have food and water for at least a month, guns and ammo and in a secret door in the closet you will find a notebook with other safehouses locations where you could move if you needed to." 

 

Sayuri handled him a piece of paper and a key, the blond unfolded the paper and read the direction, he knew how to get there. Before he could say a word Sayuri put on her helmet and made her way to her bike, Akihito did the same and got on the bike they arrived there in.  

 

Luckily for them the ride was uneventful, they arrived at another house, it was small but at a good location so they could get out quickly if needed. Akihito handled the keys to Sayuri and she opened the door, minutes later they were all settled down. 

 

"Pick the room you want Akihito-san, I'll take the other one. Please feel free to use whatever you want from here." 

 

Akihito nodded in response. 

 

"We are a mess, we should clean ourselves first. Both rooms have their own bathrooms so please use any of them freely." 

 

The numbness was still there, he knew he should be feeling something, fear, confusion, anger, something. But there was nothing there. Akihito entered the first room he saw and decided to take a shower, maybe the water could wash the numbness away.  

 

Once clean he emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his hips and found a clean set of clothes in the bed, he got dressed   and made his way to the living room. The sight that greeted him was heart wrecking. 

 

Sayuri was on the couch already showered and dressed with a tank top and some black denim shorts, he could see some scars in her arms and legs but that was not the worse, she had the top up exposing her abdomen with one hand pressed the stab wound close while the other one had a stapler, bloodied bandages were scattered around her. 

 

With shocked eyes the photographer saw the young woman place a cloth between her teeth, then she placed the stapler against her wound and pressed. Hard. She gritted her teeth around the cloth and muffled a scream as she went on all along the wound until it was all closed up. 

 

And the numbness was gone, all the emotions bottled up were now running free through the photographer's body and it was overwhelming, warm tears ran through his face and he could not find the strength to make them stop. Sobs left his throat alerting Sayuri of his presence, she turned and immediately pulled down her top hiding her wound. She opned que mouth to apologize but the photographer was faster. 

 

"I'm sorry..." 

 

"Why? None of this was your fault, Akihito-san. It should be me apologizing to you, I let my guard down and now we are  trapped in this mess and I was not able to protect you properly, I'm sorry..." 

 

Akihito shook his head and allowed more tears to fall, Sayuri stood up and embraced him in a hug, the blond buried his head in the girl's shoulder and sobbed until there were no more tears left. All the time she said nothing, just hugged him and rubbed circled in his back in a reassuring motion. 

 

After what seemed like hours Akihito finally raised his head and the guard let him go. 

 

"Come on, let me tend to your wounds, Akihito-san." 

 

They sat in the couch and Sayuri tended to Akihito, the photographer was surprised to see scratches and bruises in various places of his body, he hadn't noticed them even when he showered. Luckily none of them were serious and he should be completely healed in a day or two. While Sayuri tended to him he let his mind wander to the various events of the day, his emotions threaten to surface again so he focused on the girls face instead. 

 

She was pale but looked better than before, he could not avoid to notice she seemed to have aged a little in those hours, she looked tired. Something in her right shoulder grabbed his attention, like a stain of some sorts. He wondered if it was there before, he hadn´t seen it when she wore the red dress in their first stake out together. 

 

Sayuri finished dressing his wounds and met his eyes. 

 

"Why is this safehouse different from the others?" 

 

"Because is mine. It's one of my private safehouses. In my line of duty to have a safe place to hide that no one knows about is a necessity, it's the first time I use it, though. Not even Asami-sama knows about this place so we should be safe here, it's not untraceable but it will give us some time to heal and rest before we need to move again." 

 

Akihito hummed in response , the young woman stood up and entered the kitchen, moments later Akihito heard the sound of dishes and the stove. He stayed there in the couch, his body refused to move while he processed their situation, he didn´t know how much time he stayed there but suddenly Sayuri was beside him with a plate with food for him. 

 

"I'm sorry..." 

 

"There you go apologizing again, I already told you, Akihito-san, you have nothing to apologize for, none of this is your fault. We are safe now so please don't worry, also my wound is not that big of a deal so I will be fine in no time. Please, don't think that any of this is your fault, it's not." 

 

Akihito looked into her eyes and found nothing but determination and warmth, he gave her a small smile. 

 

"I... saw the picture in your apartment. Those were your parent right? Ah, It's ok if you don't want to talk about it, Asami said Kirishima and Suoh raised you so I guess it's a difficult topic for you..." 

 

"It's ok, I feel comfortable telling you about them. Yes, they were my parents. My mother was a singer while my father was a musician, they met each other in a concert practice and were together since then. They were such loving persons, our house was always full of music and joy." 

 

"To lose them must have been hard." 

 

"It was, I was alone with no family nor love but years later I got a new family, Asami-sama, Kirishima-san and Suoh –san were wonderful, if not because of them I wouldn't be here." 

 

Akihito stared into her eyes while she talked to him about her family, both of her families. He saw the warmth and love in her soul for her loved ones but also the pain of losing them at a young age. Asami's past words echoed in is mind: _'You know I don't_ _mix my business with_ _prostitution, organ and_ _human traffic_ _. She is the reason behind that_ _dec_ _ision_ _.'_ Sayuri caught his stare and smiled at him. 

 

"Please don't pity me Akihito-san. My life hasn't been easy but I will not break because of it. Let me show you something." 

 

The girl stood and walked a couple of meter ahead, her back facing him. Her hands traveled to the hem of her top and pulled it up above her head, she hugged the clothe covering her chest showing her bare back to the photographer. 

 

His eyes widened in surprise. He realized the stain he saw on the girl's shoulder was not a stain, it was part of a tattoo, it went from her right shoulder all over her back down to her left hip. It was beautiful, a big red flower sat proudly on her shoulder blade and from it emerged smaller violet ones that covered her skin. 

 

"Wow, its beautiful..." 

 

"Now take a closer look." 

 

Akihito looked at her with a confused stare, it took him a couple of minutes to understand the petition but finally he stood from the couch and got closer to the girl. He stood behind her with his eyes focused on the fine ink of her back, he followed one  long line until he realized something. That one was not a tattoo line. 

 

It was a scar. 

 

It crossed the entirety of Sayuri's back and it was not the only one, upon closer inspection Akihito noticed a large number of angry lines that covered her skin below the tattoo. He stopped breathing, it was horrifying, he could not even imagine the pain the original wounds must have caused but also he couldn't find the strength to think how those scars were made, what kind of monster was capable of doing such a horrible thing to another human being.  

 

He kept staring at those scars until his heart skipped a beat, there were also a different kind of marks below the ink, small round ones, like cigarette burns. Dunhill, Akihito realized. And there were a lot of them. 

 

Akihito let out a small gasp of horror. 

 

"What the hell?"  

 

"As I said, my life had not been easy. But that is the way I try to see everything that I had lived, I don't hide the ugly things, I used them as a base for the good ones." 

 

The photographer took another look, but this time he made an effort to not focus only on one thing at a time. 

 

And he saw it. 

 

The scars were not hidden below the ink, they were part of the piece, they merged with the design in a way it was not easy to say where one ended and the other begun. They complemented each other. 

 

"You see it now? The key isn't to hide the bad experiences, the key is to transform them into good ones. It doesn't matter how bad something is, there is always something good you can take out of it." 

 

"The flowers..." 

 

"The red one is a Tsubaki. The violet ones are called... Shion." 

 

"Shion... Sion... Asami..." 

 

Sayuri put back on the top tank and turned to face Akihito. 

 

"Asami-sama saved me from hell and gave me a new family, they gave me education and showed me love again. They gave me my life back.  The scars will always be there, the nightmares will never stop and the memories will haunt me forever but it's easier because I have them now. I have Sion. They are my family now. And you are family now too. I want to be crystal clear with you, Akihito-san. I don't protect you only because it's my job, I don't want to protect you only because you are important to Asami-sama, I want to protect you because I care for you, I consider you as part of my family. "  

 

Akihito was speechless, the conversation took an unexpected turn and he had no clue of what to say or feel. His brain was in the middle of a shut down when he say the young woman go down on her knees and press her head to the floor in a full dogeza. 

 

"I will not lose another member of my family again, I will gladly give up my life if it means you can keep yours, Akihito-san. I will protect you against hell and heaven if it's necessary, and I promise you that I will take you back to Sion unharmed, back to Asami-sama's side." 

 

TBC. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that was long! Hope you like it as much as I do. (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ 
> 
> Tsubaki= Camellia spp. In Japanese flower language the red camellia means humility, discretion and love.   
> Shion= Aster tataricus. In Japanese flower language it means "I won't forget you".


	26. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akihito is missing and a certain crime lord needs to take action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!! 
> 
> First of all, so sorry for not updating for such a long time, I found no time to write at all and it was driving me crazy! I wanted so badly to continue this! But finally, I made some time for it and here we are, a new chapter to follow Asami around.  
>    
> Also, thank you so much to each one of you for your comments, kudos, bookmarks and all of your lovely support, you have no idea how much it means to me, seriously, I can't thank you enough. You are the best!!! 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately.   
>    
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts.   
>    
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 2** **6\. LOST** **.**  

 

He couldn't tear off his eyes from the red puddle in the floor. Bright red liquid. Blood. Someone's blood. Maybe Akihito's blood. 

 

And maybe not.  

 

Beside the ' _checkmate'_  message that he found there was no evidence of Akihito been taken by their attackers, the only thing they had was a single tire mark, a broken GPS and a puddle of blood. Asami would have to work with that. 

 

"Sir, may I suggest contact Hayashi-sensei? She should check you over, after that explosion..." 

 

Kirishima's voice was coated with worry but also Asami could distinguish the rage in his words, he knew his secretary was angry at himself for not preventing the events but also he was worried not only for Akihito but for Sayuri too. 

 

"Not yet. We need to find them first. Take samples of the blood, I want to know whose blood is that. Her contingence plan failed so she must have taken action on her own, the GPS was broken on porpoise, must be Natsume's doing, that means she is with Akihito and doesn't want to be tracked. We will go to her apartment, maybe we can find something there that tells us where they could have moved to." 

 

Asami made his way to his car with Kirishima and Suoh behind him, the secretary pushed the bulky bodyguard to the passenger seat not willing to let him drive since he was still dazed after the explosion. Kirishima sat at the driver's seat and waited or his boss to enter the back.  

 

The drive was fast and silent, they were relieved they didn't find any signs of another persecution on their way.   

 

The feeling didn't last long. 

 

As soon as the three men entered the apartment they knew they were not going to find them there. The apartment was trashed, drawers opened with their contents scattered on the floor, the furniture upside down, doors broken and walls damaged. Someone had arrived there before them. 

 

"Sir." 

 

Suoh called his boss and signaled something in the floor. More blood. But this time were small drops indicating someone bleeding had passed there, also some red stains like hand prints in some furniture, the three men searched the apartment but found no enemies nor allies, only destruction. 

 

"The apartment was searched but there's no sign of confrontation, the blood in the furniture is of contact, their pursuers must have arrived when they were already gone." 

 

The secretary and the blond guard nodded in agreement. That meant Sayuri and Akihito were still alive, one or maybe both of them were injured but alive non-the less. 

 

"I want samples of the blood here too, also search for any lead to their whereabouts and who was here before us. We are going back to Sion." 

 

Kirishima and Suoh gave a nod and both men took out their phones to make the necessary calls, Asami walked to the door and stopped when he spotted something in the corner of the living room. The little family shrine was broken on the floor, the ornaments and incense shattered in pieces. The crime lord went closer and saw the family photo face down, the frame was also broken. With gentle hands the raven man pulled the photograph free from the frame, folded it in half and kept it in his suit pocket. 

 

*** 

 

"You are a really lucky man, Asami-san." 

 

Hayashi-sensei finished bandaging the bigger bruises in the crime lord's body, when the last bandage was on place she went through his head again, searching for any injury she might have missed the last three times she checked. 

 

"Considering you just were in an explosion you are pretty unharmed, just some cuts and brises and a small concussion. Take care of the bruises as usual, the concussion might not represent any problem but take it slowly and if you feel any dizziness at all or a headache, doesn't matter if is a small one, call me immediately. Kirishima-san, keep an eye on him for any sign of discomfort, you and I know he would work with an open bullet wound if he could." 

 

The secretary nodded in response while the woman went over to Suoh to check him up.  

 

"Suoh-san, mostly the same advice, although I would recommend a day of full rest, your concussion might get worse if you don´t. Now, I sense there is an urgent matter in your hands so I know none of you will listen to my instructions, but please try to take it easy." 

 

The woman stepped aside and started to get all her equipment in order on its bag. 

 

"Thank you, Hayashi-sensei." 

 

"Where is Takaba-kun? Please don’t tell me you sent him away, I liked him." 

 

"He is the urgent matter in our hands, an enemy of mine has their eyes on him. He is missing right now." 

 

"You look awfully calm to be in that situation, are you planning to let him die alone?" 

 

"He is in good hands, Natsume is with him. But I have a favor to ask you, at least one of them is injured, depending on the seriousness of the wounds they might go to you for treatment, if they do please make sure no one knows about them and contact me immediately." 

 

"Sure. I will also keep an eye open in case they seek treatment somewhere else, some contacts owe me a couple of favors." 

 

The crime lord thanked her one more time, the woman took her bags and after a nod and a goodbye she left the office. 

 

The three men put hands on action as soon as the door closed, they needed to act fast, there was no time to waste. They reviewed the events one by one, from the deleted information on Sion´s server passing through to the finding of Shirai's body up to Sayuri's trashed apartment and the attackers who were not killed by Sion's staff committing suicide with cyanide to avoid capture. From all of that they were able to form three conclusions: 

 

A) The information could only be deleted through Sion's server, which meant the mole had Intel skills.  

 

B) Sayuri destroyed all the GPS traceable devices, which meant she figured out they were being tracked by them. Only a select number of people had access to the codes needed to do so. The mole was a high rank.  

 

C) The delated information was planned as a distraction to prevent Asami from discovering the trap, only few people knew Akihito's plans for the night and even less knew Asami was pendant of the boy. The mole was close to them.  


 

With those three main points, they decided on two main actions to ensure victory: find the mole and find Akihito before the hat man did. 

 

*** 

 

Three days passed by and with every minute that ticked Asami grew more impatient. They hadn't found Akihito yet. 

 

The results of the blood samples that were taken in the safehouse and in Sayuri's apartment threw it was the young woman's blood but since Hayashi-sensei hadn't had any tip on them seeking treatment anywhere Asami could only hope her wounds were non-fatal.  

 

Asami had busied the latest days coordinating Kirishima and Suoh to achieve their objectives as soon as possible while at the same time the crime lord kept Sion running. 

 

Suoh was in charge of the search for Akihito, there were little to no clues of where the photographer and the young woman could have gone to, In the middle of her apartment chaos the team recovered a hidden computer and after a couple of non-sleep nights they were able to access Sayuri's private server, all the files were encrypted but they managed to crack some codes and, while they didn't have an exact location, they did have a more manageable area to search in: south Shinjuku. 

 

Meanwhile, Kirishima was in charge of the search for the mole, as able to trace the "checkmate" message back to a homeless boy who claimed to have been paid to place it on car's windshield by a man dressed in black and a large hat. Also, the secretary went through all the high ranks to narrow down the suspects, after long hours of infinite files and interviews he had narrowed it down to team Neko and the intel team.  

 

During the interviews various guards and intel personnel voiced their concerns about Sayuri being the mole, the girl knew Akihito's plans, she had access to all of the data needed to disappear information from the server and most importantly, she had Asami's and Akihito's trust so the task of taking the photographer should have been easy with such freedom. Maybe the GPS were broken so Asami couldn't find them, maybe the confrontation was planned to give her time to escape with a kidnapped Akihito, maybe she trashed her own apartment to take all of the evidence with her, maybe she was a traitor. 

 

Kirishima didn't want to think about it but he had to admit it was a possibility. 

 

But Asami thought otherwise. 

 

When presented with such theory the crime lord brushed it away, his eyes showing no sign of doubt. Sayuri was not a traitor. Akihito was with her and therefore he was safe. 

 

The stoic secretary couldn't help but smile at his boss's response, he was relieved the crime lord felt the same way he did and trusted the young woman hole heartedly.  

 

The office door opened abruptly and a frantic Soh entered the room, after a couple of long breaths to try to bring oxygen to his lungs the bulky man met Asami's questioning look. 

 

"Sir, there is a fire report in a small house, it seems to be product of a confrontation... it's in south Shinjuku." 

 

Asami put his Dunhill in the ashtray, he didn't bother to answer his man or say a thing, he exited the office with his must trusted men behind him. 

 

*** 

 

The fire had been already controlled by the time they arrived at the house but they could see right away that it had consumed a great part of the construction. Despite the burned mess the flames left behind the three men were able to recognize some signs of struggle in what had been the living room, furniture and other elements were burned and scattered in the floor in position that the flames wouldn't be able to put them in. Asami walked around the burned house until he got to the parking lot, and what he saw placed a smile on his lips, or what he didn't saw.  

 

There were no bikes. 

 

Sayuri and Akihito had managed to run away again. 

 

The crime lord barked some orders to his men, to search for anything useful to track down Sayuri's next hiding spot, to search the area because they might still be close, to capture any suspicious person for questioning. Small groups of people began searching and divided the tasks, Asami himself busied his mind looking over the parking lot, it was the last place his kitten had been so maybe something had survived the fire that could be useful. 

 

Two laps around the place and the crime lord decided it was enough, there was nothing there. Until he saw something black with little red accents. 

 

Akihito's camera bag. 

 

He almost missed it between the burned remaining of the construction, the crime lord got closer and picked up the bag, it was burnt in some places but the fire hadn't catch it too much, he could feel the weight of its content, Akihito's camera was inside. 

 

Leaving the various teams on the scene the crime lord made his way back to Sion followed again by Suoh and Kirishima, he never let go of the burnt black and red camera bag in his hands. Once they were back at his office Asami wasted no time to open the bag. The lens was broken and the glass pieces were dancing all over the place but the camera seemed to be fine. Kirishima handed his boss a small black cable and Asami plugged it to the camera and then to his computer, maybe Akihito had captured something in his viewfinder that could help them. 

 

The first photographs were proof shots, then they focused on the black car trying to show its occupants, no faces were shown, no number plate, nothing.  The next photographs made the crime lord raise an eyebrow, he recognized the background as the house he was at less than an hour before. The photographs showed small things that let him see a little glimpse of Akihito's perspective during those three days he had been missing.  

 

Sayuri in the kitchen cooking something. 

 

A plate full of simple yet delicious looking food. 

 

A grinning Akihito in front of a mirror making a peace sign with his free hand while the other held the camera. 

 

The small garden. 

 

A sleeping Sayuri resting in the couch covered by a blanket. 

 

A view of the street nearby, the pedestrians unaware of the caged kitten taking their picture. 

 

Asami continued watching through the photographs until he came upon something different. A video. And there were more than one. He clicked on the first one, unable to hold back the smirk at the sight of fierce blue eyes. 

 

_'Hey, Asami...'_  

 

He lost himself in the sight of his kitten speaking to him, his soft voice telling him about what had happened and how they were doing, his mischievous laugh while he showed him the house. Before the crime lord knew the first video was over and he clicked on the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Once all the videos were done, relief showered his mind. 

 

Akihito was fine. He saw some scratches and bruises but nothing life threatening, he had spotted a bandage on Sayuri's abdomen peaking underneath her top but she looked fine. 

 

Akihito was safe. 

 

Or at least he was until the house was consumed by flames. Now the photographer was missing again and he could only hope he was still with Sayuri somewhere safe.  

 

He needed to find them, he needed to feel Akihito against his skin, he needed to breath the cinnamon scent between his arms, he needed to feel the warmth by his side. 

 

Asami closed his computer and turned to see Kirishima and Suoh, both men were silent waiting for his orders. The crime lord stood and took another cigarette out of his pocket, a fierce look of determination in his golden eyes. He was going to find Akihito. 

 

*** 

 

Finally the mole was within his grasp, two days had passed since the fire and the finding of Akihito's camera when Kirishima called him early in the morning to inform him of his findings. Only three suspects remained: Shibata, Tachibana and her assistant, Inoue Tsugumi. 

 

The three of them had the ability to access the server and delate information leaving no trace, the three of them had the rank to access information unavailable to many. Asami didn't want to believe it but among those three persons was one that stood out from the rest. That person had been a suspect before. 

 

Shibata. 

 

The crime lord left his empty penthouse with the first sun rays of the day, since Akihito went missing five days before Asami found himself unable to properly sleep in his own home, it felt lonely and cold. Because of that he got the habit of arriving early in the morning and leaving after a couple of rest hours. He never stayed in the penthouse for long. 

 

He was tired but he couldn't stop until the mole was captured and Akihito was back to safety. 

 

Back to him. 

 

Kirishima was waiting for him with the limo as usual, the secretary looked as tired as his boss, it was obvious he wasn't sleeping much either. Both men made their way to Sion in complete silence, the driver thinking ways to find proof of any of the suspects being the mole, and the passenger thinking in all the ways he could torture the culprits of Akihito's distress. 

 

The crime lord made his way to his office while Kirishima parked the limo, they still had time to plan their next step to finally uncover the traitor. Asami entered the elevator and felt a strange feeling in his gut, something wasn't right.  

 

The doors opened on the top floor and the raven man continued his way to his office, the strange feeling kept getting worse, he was not alone. Asami stood in front of his office in complete silence, he focused in every little sound his ears could catch, slowly but with great precision he unholstered his gun. 

 

He took a deep breath. He held his gun in position ready to fire if needed, the other hand slipped to the doorknob and turned it without making any sound. 

 

Asami opened the door and entered his office. 

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to make your bets!!! Let me read your thoughts!!!


	27. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A photographer with nothing but his camera to entertain himself has only one option to kill time, or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> It's been so long again, I'm so sorry!!! Real life has been very busy this days but I tried to make it up to you after the long wait, so we have a long chapter this time, and when I say long chapter I mean it, there are 10,800 words here so… you have been warned!!! Now, grab the snack or sweet of your choice and get comfortable because we are about to get stared.
> 
> But before we do I can't thank you enough for all of your support, for each one of your comments, kudos, bookmarks and thoughts, you have no idea how much it means to me, I am really thankful for having such nice readers, I love you all.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 27. FOUND.**

_He was bored, Akihito was trapped in a safehouse somewhere in south Shinjuku with nothing but his camera. The photographer walked around the house searching for something to do, he entered the bedrooms, the living room, even the bathrooms, and he found nothing to entertain himself._

_He looked at his reflection on the bathroom mirror, his scratches were there and big black circles sat below his eyes, the blond extended his hand to touch his reflection when the door slammed open._

_'Akihito-san, we need to go, they are here.'_

_The young woman took his hand and pulled him, she leaded the way through the house. Akihito could hear the destruction being made to the house, he could hear footsteps following them but he couldn't manage the courage to look back._

_'Don't worry, Akihito-san. I will protect you.'_

_They reached the stairs without encountering anyone but as soon as they placed a foot on the stairs a loud gunshot pierced through his ears._

_His eyes widened in horror. Sayuri began to fall in front of him, red liquid escaping her body and her hand still clutching his. He saw everything in slow motion, her hair waiving from the sudden movement, her legs wobbling only to give up seconds later, the way she slowly turned her head to face him, her little smile with blood dripping down her chin, her bloodshot eyes staring kindly at him, her hand squishing his for a second only to finally let go, her body rolling down the stairs leaving a red path behind, her kind eyes looking at his direction but seeing nothing, her lips slightly parted releasing her final breath._

He bolted awake and sat on his bed, his eyes searched the room for any sign of danger while his lungs tried to drive as much oxygen into them as possible. It took Akihito some minutes to control is breathing and calm his raging heartbeat, he repeated the same thing in his head over and over. ' _It's ok, it was just a nightmare. You are safe, Sayuri is safe.'_

The photographer reached for his phone in the bed side table and frowned when he saw the hour. He only had had three hours of sleep. Releasing a sigh, Akihito concluded sleep was not an option, not with the nightmare still fresh in his memory so he opted to prepare breakfast.

 

Leaving his room in the second floor he made his way to the kitchen in the floor below, his heart skipped some beats along the way but once he passed the stairs he knew he had made it. _'It was just a nightmare.'_

Dim light down the hall pulled his attention away from his thoughts. Sayuri was already in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Looks like I'm not the only one unable to sleep this morning."

 

"Akihito-san! Good morning. I just thought an early breakfast was a good option to get in action as soon as possible, I'm almost done now."

 

"Oh, ok then."

 

The photographer sat in a chair and watched her move around the kitchen grabbing ingredients and mixing things, suddenly he became aware of the sticky sensation all over his body and realized he was drenched in sweat. _'I must have sweated quite a lot during the nightmare.'_

"I'll take a quick shower."

 

He didn't wait for a response from the girl and went back to his room, after the fast shower he was about to exit his room when he noticed a red bag sitting in the bedside table.

 

His camera bag.

 

Without knowing why, the blond approached it and reached out his hand to take it. It was like a trance, he felt the urgent need to have it in his hands. With trembling fingers, he took the camera bag and opened it, with expert care he placed the safety strap attached to the camera around his neck and felt the weight of the object in the palm of his hands.

 

And everything made sense again.

 

He was a photographer.

 

And as a photographer the only thing he could do at the moment was the only thing he ever wanted. To expose the truth through his viewfinder. To whom he was going to show this truth? he had no idea but it didn't matter at the moment, he was not going to give up, he was going to fight the only way he knew.

 

With his weapon of choice still in his hands he made his way back to the kitchen, this time his heart went through all the beats it was intended to, he was calm, he had a purpose for the time being.

 

He found Sayuri still moving around the kitchen fixing the last details of their breakfast, without doubts he raised the weapon and made the oblivious girl his target.

 

Snap.

 

A simple shot captured the image of the young woman focused on something in the stove, a little smile on her face, but it was not only the picture of a person cooking, for him it was his friend taking care of him even in the most basic ways.

 

Sayuri turned the heat off and plated the food, completely unaware of her picture being taken. She turned with the plates full of food in her hands and the smile still on her lips.

 

Akihito helped her set the table and once it was done he shot a picture of his plate. It was not only food, it was a friend's way to show their love.

 

"I'm glad."

 

Akihito looked up to meet brown/green eyes that were looking at him softly.

 

"W-what?"

 

"I'm glad. You hadn't smile since yesterday but now you have your camera with you and you smiled again. I'm glad to have you back, Akihito-san."

 

The photographer blushed and focused in his breakfast, seconds later the young woman did the same.

 

He spent the rest of the morning taking photographs only to erase them seconds later, they were not bad but he felt the photographs lacked something, what was it? He had no idea. The only thing he was certain of was that he was bored to death.

 

The photographer had already walked over the whole house, twice, and found absolutely nothing to do. Sayuri was busy making sure their location was safe so when the girl asked not to be interrupted for a couple of hours Akihito agreed immediately.

 

Walking aimlessly through the hall, the blond glanced towards the clock hanged on the wall. 13:57. Almost time to change his bandages. He walked his way to the second floor and entered his bathroom, placed his camera on the counter and started to take off the bandages Sayuri wrapped him in after breakfast.

 

Once bandage free Akihito looked at his reflection in the mirror, dark circles sat below his eyes but they kept the usual fire in them, a series of bruises and scratches marked his skin in different parts of his body but they were healing well, he looked at his hands and when his eyes fell at the angry red wounds in his knuckles a smile touched his face. The photographer had complained to the young woman when she started tending to his wounds in the morning, he claimed he didn’t need anything since he was fine but the girl had none of it. In the end he has both of his hands gently covered in ointment and bandaged.

 

The wounds were still red but not as achy than before, she had done a good work.  He took the ointment from the cabinet and covered all his wounds in it, giving special attention to his knuckles, he re dressed his hands and looked at is reflection again, the smile was still there.

 

The photographer put his shirt back on, took his camera and pointed it to his reflection. His smile turned into a grin when he instinctively made a peace sign with his free hand.

 

That was him.

 

Bruised and tired but with fire in his eyes and determined to keep fighting.

 

He exited the bathroom and made his way to the garden, he needed fresh air. Careful to not being visible from the outside world he found a small patch of grass below a tree and lied down, silently watching the clouds pass by.

 

_‘Why is all of this happening? Is it because of the Maeda case? Or is it because Asami? It all started with Maeda, then Asami and I were targeted at the penthouse and now I was ambushed, why?’_

He spent some time thinking about everything that had occurred in the last weeks, but no matter how hard he tried to make sense of all of it he couldn’t find an explanation. A cold breeze made him shiver and his thoughts moved to the present.

 

‘ _What can I do now? I can’t investigate from here but I can’t go out either because I could put Sayuri in danger and get both of us killed. Maybe I could ditch her… no, she would find me in five minutes and then I would have her behind me all day long. No. What can I do?’_

Another breeze brought shivers to his body again, the tree branches above him moved with the wind and some leaves fell gently swinging in midair to finally reach the floor. He followed another bunch of leaves with his sight arching his neck backwards to follow their path behind him without changing his position on his back. The leaves fell on some purple flowered bushes and only when his eyes caught the beautiful contrast of soft pink with rich purple did he noticed the leaves were not leaves, they were flower petals.

 

Soft pink flower petals.

 

The photographer raised his eyes to the tree and saw the thousands of little soft pink flowers above him, he was laying below a Sakura tree but was too immersed on his own thoughts to notice. The Sakura season was almost over but the tree still had some flowers in it. Another breeze came through and more petals flew away, some continued their way with the wind while others stayed behind to make company to the flowers of the garden.

 

He arched his neck backwards again and focused his camera to the falling petals; he took an upside down photo of the small garden with the flying petals dancing in the wind.

 

It was his turn to dance with the wind, he could not do anything to help but with keeping himself safe and alive, if he couldn’t help to capture the bad guys he could at least help stepping out of the way so others could… at least until he was in a better position to take action.

 

With renovated determination the photographer stood and gave the sky a last glance, orange and purple tinted the clouds.

 

_‘It’s almost dawn. Have I been out that long?’_

Grabbing his camera Akihito made his way back inside, he wanted a photo of the dawn sky from the second floor. He moved through the house in silence, his brain racing through all the possibilities to get the perfect picture of his next target until something made him stop on his racks in the living room.

 

Sayuri.

 

More specifically, Sayuri fast asleep in the couch. If her awkward position was to reveal something Akihito guessed she fell asleep in a sitting position only to end up sliding down; her feet where on the ground while her torso rested on its side in the surface of the couch, he head in an strange angle.

 

Akihito went upstairs and disappeared in his room to emerge moments later with a blanket and a pillow in his hands, his camera hanging from his neck. He returned to the living room and with great care placed the pillow below the young woman’s head, and then he moved her legs up to the couch in an attempt to put her in a more comfortable position. Happy with his arrangement he placed the blanket over her.

 

Her face was relaxed in deep sleep but dark circles even bigger than Akihito’s were clearly visible below her eyes. _‘She looks so tired.’_ The photographer took some steps back and without thinking too much he snapped a picture of the sleeping woman.

 

Resuming his last mission the blond made his way to the second floor to wait for the perfect moment to capture the dawn in his viewfinder, he placed himself beside a window, his experience in stakeout making it easier to see without being seen. The street below caught his attention, Akihito raised his camera again and captured those people, people who walked slowly unaware of the hiding people in the house they passed by, unaware of the danger Akihito and Sayuri could be in if they as much put a foot in the street, unaware of their own luck to be able to walk free.

 

The afternoon sky tinted in richer tones of orange and purple as the sun made its way down, the photographer took several pictures of the colors that painted the clouds and the vibrant shadows that contoured every person in the street, he became so absorbed in this tasked that he didn’t stopped until he notices the lighting was different, he looked up to the sky again and realized the sun was long gone, being replaced by the bright moon instead.

 

After a couple shots of the moon a loud growl from his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, deciding it was time for dinner the blond man left his spot near the window and walked silently to the kitchen, a feeling of deja vu reached him as he saw Sayuri already cooking.

 

“Afternoon, sleepy head.”

 

“Akihito-san! Thank you so much for the blanket and the pillow… also, I’m so sorry, I fell asleep and forgot all about lunch, you must be starving…”

 

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I can’t cook for myself, I got too much into my own thoughts that I forgot about food too. And you don’t have to strain yourself, you are still wounded… how… how is your…”

 

“It’s nothing you should worry about. Now, would do like to help me prepare dinner?”

The rest of the nigh passed in complete calm, his first day of hiding ended with him tucked in his bed with his mind set in one sole purpose: to stay alive.

 

***

 

_He was out in the streets, running away from something. He could hear steps behind him, following him everywhere, no matter where he turned, where he climbed, they were always behind him. But he never turned around, he felt like if he turned he would be captured by whoever or whatever was following him._

_The streets where empty, he was the only one out, he and his followers. Akihito spotted an alley and darted his way there, he knew the place, it was one of the alleys he had used to get away from red, bald and mustache some weeks ago. Recognizing the emergency ladder he had used to climb the building that time he went straight to it and decided to use it again._

_He jumped from rooftop to rooftop without hesitation, but the steps were still behind him. And his legs started to feel heavy, he could fell it every step he made, he was getting slower and slower. Akihito jumped again and landed rolling in the next roof, he stood up as fast as he could and reached the edge of the building to jump again, he pushed his legs as far as they could go, he used all the strength he could muster to jump as far as he could but as soon as his body was in the air he knew it._

_He was not going to make it._

_Akihito stretched his body and moved his hands towards the edge of the next building in an attempt to reach it and prevent his fall, he stretched so far he could feel his muscles burning in protest but it was to no avail, his fingertips brushed the concrete and gravity made its job._

_But he didn’t go down far._

_A firm hand grabbed his and stopped his fall, its grip was firm and warm. He knew that hand. He had memorized the feeling of it, that hand had touched him in places and ways no other had. He looked up to the owner of said hand and met with mesmerizing gold._

_Asami._

_The crime lord pulled him up effortless and without saying a word pulled him to the inside of the building, his hand never losing its grip._

_It was dark, the deeper they went into the building the darker it became, soon enough Akihito couldn’t see a thing, not even the man in front of him, the only thing that made him keep going was the warm feeling of that hand covering his._

_Until it wasn’t there anymore._

_It was lost as fast as it had appeared in the beginning, one second he could feel the weight, the brush of that soft skin against his and the next one there was nothing. He panicked; the steps that followed him could be heard behind him again. The photographer started running in the complete darkness not knowing where he was heading._

_His chest felt heavy, his breathing was labored and he could feel the sting of tears forming in his eyes, desperation started to grow inside him._

_‘Akihito.’_

_The photographer stopped in his tracks and listened to that voice, that strong baritone voice that had whispered things in his ears many times._

_‘Come to me, Akihito.’_

_He started running again, but this time he knew his destination. He ran towards that voice, to Asami. He forgot about the steps following him, he couldn’t hear them anymore. Suddenly, he say a ray of light that blinded him for a second, he kept running despite his inability to see, Asami was still calling his name._

_He crossed the light and stood outside the building, he was in the street again but this time it was full of people, like a normal day, and there, on the other side of the street waiting for him was Asami, with his trademark smirk and a Dunhill between his lips._

_Akihito ran to his partner, relief washed through his body as he came closer. He was safe, he was finally with Asami and everything was going to be fine._

_Until a loud gunshot pierced the air._

The photographer bolted awake in the morning of his second day in hiding, he took some minutes to compose himself after the nightmare reminding himself it was just that, a nightmare, just a bad dream. Once he felt he was calm enough Akihito started the day with the same resolution he had reached the day before.

 

Stay alive.

 

After a quick shower he found again Sayuri already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. The first hours of the morning were uneventful and boring, for some reason Akihito couldn’t muster the strength to take pictures anymore, his camera was between his hands at all times but not a single photograph was taken.

 

Sayuri had disappeared again to do who knows what so Akihito was alone with his thoughts… again.

 

Except this time each one of his thoughts came to the same exact place.

 

Asami.

 

Everything that came to his mind ended up reminding him of the golden eyed crime lord, he remembered the nightmare, and how Asami had guided him there. He remembered all the chases he had gone through the lasts weeks and how Asami was there for him every time. He remembered the nasty photographs that had been sent to him anonymously but he also remembered the way Asami hugged him at night.

 

Without thinking it twice, Akihito took his camera and pointed it to himself, he pushed the record button.

“Hey, Asami. Hmm…. Well, as you can see I’m fine, I… I’m a little bruised here and there but I’m alive so I can’t complain, haha. Uhhh… I’m not sure of what to say so I guess I’ll just show you around the house. This is where I’m sleeping, the bedroom has its own bathroom and the bed is really comfy, here is…”

 

The young blond carried his camera all around the house, describing and showing each room, it took him less than ten minutes but by the time he was done he had formed an idea on what he had to say.

 

“I had no idea why I started to film this but I guess I know now. Anyway, let me tell you what happened that lead Sayuri and I to this place, I’m sure you are curious.”

 

He went through all the events that he had lived since the night of the ambush, the trap, the chase, the first safehouse, Sayuri taking a knife for him, her house, her promise to take him back to Asami.

 

“She deserves a raise, I hope you know it. She managed to take me out of the warehouse, she stayed with me all the way, she even got stabbed to protect me! If you don’t give her a raise after this I’m going to kick your ass. Oh, that reminds me, when I see you again you and I have to talk about the… sedative incident, why did you get mad at HER for something I did! You are unbelievable. Anyway, I think that’s all for now, I’ll keep you updated. See you, bastard.”

 

He stopped the recording and lowered his camera with a satisfied smile in his face, he needed that. Moving around the house he decided to clean up a little, being just he and Sayuri the house was almost clean, even more if he had in mind it was just his second day there, but the photographer felt the need to make some house work, the familiarity of the actions soothing him in some way, and it help keep his mind busy too.

 

 Akihito passed the next couple of hours finding things to be cleaned and leaving them spotless, his mind was calm and focused on the task until a soft sound reached his ears.

 

It was soft, like a breeze, a breeze he knew but had never heard like that. He silently picked up his camera and made his way towards the sound, to the kitchen. The photographer started a new recording and pointed it to the young woman moving around while her voice flooded the space in a sweet melody.

 

She was singing.

 

The photographer found himself mesmerized by the song, her voice was beautiful. He continued recording the unaware girl until she turned around and saw him and a sound he only could describe as a squeal left her throat.

 

“Ah! A-Akihito-san!”

 

Akihito stopped the recording and decided to ignore the redness of her face.

 

“So, now you sing too? What’s next? You make magic tricks too?”

 

“No I don´t! And you weren’t supposed to hear that …”

 

“Why!? Sounded really good, you took lessons or something? I can’t see glasses sending you to singing school.”

 

“My mother… she taught me some things when I was little. I guess I took it from her…”

 

“I’m sure she would be proud, you have a beautiful voice.”

 

The photographer offered her a shy but true smile, the young woman answered back with a small smile of her own. 

 

“But seriously, is there something you can’t do?”

 

“I think you already witnessed that, Akihito-san.  I am completely unable to drive a car.”

 

***

 

After eating lunch Akihito found himself drawn to his camera again, he laid in his bed and pointed the camera towards him.

 

“Hey, Asami. Why is Sayuri working for you? Don’t get me wrong, she is good at her job but she could do so much other things, things that didn’t involve assassination for example. I’ve seen her do things that could land her in a normal job perfectly and I’m sure she would do them just fine, she could even be and idol if she wanted to, she has the looks and the talent, I don’t know if she dances but with her agility I’m certain she could manage… but she is here, working for Japan’s biggest crime lord protecting a criminal photographer from who knows which crazy yakuza group, getting stabbed and dodging bullets. I don’t get it. I just want to know why.

 

Argghh, don’t mind me, I’m rambling. I guess is not my business anyway but I can’t help to worry about her, I know she is a trained assassin but I have also seen the other sides of her and… I’m afraid. I had a nightmare yesterday, were running away and she was killed in front of me, protecting me. I don’t want her to die because of me. I told you before I had figured out why I started this video things, I guess it’s in case this is the only thing you get once it’s all over. Let’s face it, you and I know there is a big possibility that I will not get out of this alive.

 

And I’m afraid she will die because of me but I’m also afraid because I don’t want to die either.  If I have to die, I would like her to keep living but I know that if I die it would be only after her, she would make sure of that. So, yeah. I guess there is only one option if I want both of us to keep our heartbeats where they belong, we have to stay alive, both of us. So… that’s what I will try to achieve, I am not the type to quietly accept death anyway. Wish us luck. See you later, bastard.”

 

Akihito placed his camera on the bedside table and stayed in his bed staring at the ceiling, he had told Asami he wanted to stay alive because of Sayuri and himself but he failed to tell Asami the most important thing. The photographer took a pillow and pressed it against his face to muffle his groans, he had chickened out in the last minute. He remembered the way those golden eyes made him feel, the way those big hands hugged him in his sleep, the shivers that voice sent through his body. He wanted to feel that again.

 

The young blond spent the rest of the day training with Sayuri, something the young woman had insisted to since he had nothing to do and some self-defense could be useful in their situation.  The photographer finished his second day of hiding sore from the Spartan lessons, all of his muscles achy, but also with fire in his eyes and the most firm determination since the start of the ordeal. He was going to stay alive, stay alive for Asami.

 

***

 

The morning of the third day welcomed Akihito with absolute calm, with no nightmares that troubled his sleep the photographer woke up feeling refreshed and completely rested. While stretching his muscles still in bed he reached for his camera and turned it on while he rubbed the sleep out of his eye.

 

“Hey, Asami. It’s day three already and so far it’s been completely uneventful. I don’t want to get out of bed, my muscles burn, I didn’t filmed this yesterday but Sayuri insisted in a crash course of self-defense. She is a Spartan teacher! I hurt everywhere, even places where I had no idea there were muscles. You should make her train your men, though; it would be so fun to see her swipe the floor with them. I will film today’s session, so you have an idea of how hard she is, I mean it, she is a devil.

 

An early riser devil, I bet she is already in the kitchen, no matter how hard I try to get there before she is always already there!”

 

Akihito got up and made his way to the kitchen, talking softly to the camera as if he didn’t want to be seen. As expected Sayuri was already there, she was humming to herself softly while moving around the place, the photographer peeked through the door and directed his camera towards her, and he changed his voice imitating a nature reporter.

 

“And there she is, look at that rare specimen, this species is characterized by its quiet demeanor and sharp mind, but don’t let her appearance fool you, the Sayuri-Neko is a fierce predator, ready to rip off her enemies head to protect her babies. Right now we are witnessing a very rare event; we are listening to her mating call…”

 

A kitchen towel landed in his camera lenses blocking the view, the photographer stopped the recording as laughter filled his lungs.

 

“Who is making a mating call?! And by what you just said, I’m protecting YOU so that makes you MY BABY, so be a good kitty and help me prepare breakfast.”

 

More laughter followed but this time the sound came from both of them.

 

True to his word the next time Akihito turned on the camera he placed it on a bookshelf in the living room, all the furniture had been moved aside so there was a good amount of space where they could move around. Akihito looked a little scared while Sayuri entered the room. Just as he had said she was a tough teacher, they went through basic punches, kicks, locks and defense techniques over and over, the young woman was merciless with her attacks but as the hours passed by it was obvious the improvement in Akihito’s movements.

 

Despite his complains about her teaching methods the photographer had a bright smile on his face by the time they decided to call it a day and left to shower, have lunch and face the rest of the day.

 

“Hey, Asami. Remember that I told you I would try to stay alive? Forget it, boredom is going to kill me.  It’s so frustrating, you know? Not being able to do a thing, I mean. But I’ve been thinking, I don’t want to stay still and do nothing, also I don’t want to be scared anymore, that’s not who I am.”

 

Akihito looked away from the camera as new thoughts came to him, he remembered the photos and weird messages he got the last days, he couldn’t help the uneasiness that crawled to his body when he remembered them, all of his doubts and fears coming back to him at once.

 

“I don’t want to be scared anymore, and I’m not talking about this situation, I’m talking about life, I’m talking about experiences, I’m talking about…us. This is something I want to tell you once all of this shit is over but since there is a chance I don’t make it out alive I will tell you now. I have been thinking about this a lot and I came to a conclusion, I have no idea what’s in your mind but I know what’s in mine, I finally know and I want to tell you. Asami, I…”

 

A loud bang interrupted him midsentence; he could feel the ground shaking below his feet. The photographer froze in his place with is eyes wide and his ears picking every sound they could. Seconds later he heard footsteps rushing up the stairs followed by his door being slammed open.

 

“Akihito-san we need to go NOW. They found us, we need to leave.”

 

Sayuri’s voice brought Akihito out of his shock and into action, with precision acquired after years of experience the photographer turned off his camera and safely tucked it in his camera bag while following the girl through the hall. He hung his back from one of his shoulders and once his hands were free the young woman handed him an object.

 

A gun.

 

Akihito took in his hands like it was on fire, his eyes reflecting his inner conflict.

 

“I know you don’t want to use it but please take it with you, and please, use it you need it. I’ll do my best for it not to happen but just in case.”

 

The photographer gave a small hesitant nod and tucked the gun in the back of his belt. They moved fast through the hall until they arrived to the stairs, Sayuri turned to face the staircase and shot one of her  guns, two men rolled their way down as the young woman and the photographer passed by their side.

 

“To the parking lot, Akihito-san. If we get separated I want you to grab my bike and go to Sion, I will slow them down.”

 

“No, I will not leave you here.”

 

“I said ‘If we get separated’, if we manage to stick together we leave together.”

 

This time Akihito’s nod was full of confidence, they reached the first floor and the young woman started to make a path for them to reach their destination. The house was small and the way to the parking lot normally would be done in a couple of minutes but with their pursuers slowing them down Akihito felt like they would never make it.

 

There were too many attackers, he didn’t even knew where they came from anymore, Sayuri emptied her guns and recharged them over and over and they kept coming. The photographer noticed the lack of guns on their behalf, some of them had them but they seemed to focus on Sayuri while the other ones carried knifes or nothing at all and focused on him.

 

He was the target. And they wanted him alive.

 

Sayuri suddenly pulled him into a room and closed the door behind them. They were in the kitchen.

 

“The doors are bullet proof so we should be fine for a couple of minutes.”

 

The young woman moved around the place in a rush, opened the cabinets and took all the bottles of dish soup she could find. The photographer stared at her in confusion as the girl opened the bottles and poured its contents all over the floor and kitchen surfaces. Once the bottles were empty she grabbed the aerosol kitchen cleaners, she placed carefully one in a corner next to the door and the rest together in the middle of the room.

 

“Akihito-san, paper towels. Scatter them all around the place, now.”

 

The photographer looked at her with wide eyes but the bangs on the other side of the door made him move, Akihito grabbed the paper towel roll, ripped towels off and threw them all over the place while Sayuri made the exact same thing with another roll.

 

“Why are we doing this?”

 

“We will leave a little surprise for them, the kitchen cleaners are not only flammable but also explosive, and the dish soup expels toxic gases if heated, we need the towels to help spread he fire.”

 

They continued their maniac dance on the kitchen, two young adults running around a kitchen between dish soup and a pile of aerosol cleaners while throwing paper towels to the air, in any other circumstance the scene would be worth a trip to the psych ward.

 

A loud crash made Akihito stop in his tracks, the only window was broken and a man aimed a gun at them, his view was blocked when Sayuri placed her body in front of him and shot the man.

 

“Time is up, get through the window, go, go, go!”

 

Akihito ran to the broken window and passed his body through it, with the corner of his eye he saw Sayuri shot the can in the corner, a small explosion echoed through the kitchen and the small fire started to catch the towels nearby. The photographer made his best to ignore the dead man in the floor of the other side of the window, Sayuri joined him seconds later and together they started running through the small garden towards the other side of the house.

 

The photographer knew it was a longer route to the parking lot but they had no other option. Fortunately the garden was clear so they made it back to the house without problems but as soon as they put a feet inside their pursuers spotted them and the chase began again.

 

Eventually they were surrounded only meters away from the parking lot, just the two of them against what looked like an army. Akihito and Sayuri had their backs pressed together, carefully watching their enemies and waiting for the right moment.

 

“I’m out of ammo, Akihito-san. We will have to swipe the floor with them to get out of here. Don’t use your gun until it’s absolutely necessary.”

 

“O-Okay.”

 

“Don’t worry, Akihito-san. We can do it, I trust you.”

 

As soon as those words left her lips a loud sound reached their ears. A explosion. Their pursuers got distracted for a second and the young woman used that on her favor, she launched herself into action while Akihito moved forward too and attacked the nearest man.

 

Suddenly the army of enemies didn’t felt like an army anymore, they were only around fifteen persons and Akihito found himself knocking them out pretty easily. They were strong, yes, but their movements and attacks were nothing in comparison to his Spartan teacher, he was able to see the open spots and use them against them, he dodged blows with efficiency and connected his with great accuracy.

 

The photographer could hear gunshots behind him and he knew they were shooting against Sayuri but decided to focus on his own battle.

 

Sayuri trusted him, and he trusted her.

 

He knocked out the last of his attackers and turned around to see Sayuri throw some knives and slide a man’s throat. Fast, precise _, deadly_.

 

The photographer felt something tug at his shirt and a hand grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against a strong chest, with wide eyes he saw a gun barrel pointing to his face.

 

“Stop right there, bitch. If you don’t want pretty boy here to gain a hole in his face you will be a nice girl and take the bullet for him.”

 

Sayuri stood still, she only moved to take out the knife from the man’s body she currently had against the wall. A small chuckle echoed the hall. Akihito turned slightly his head to face the man and flashed him with a confident evil grin.

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, you know. The Sayuri-Neko is known to rip off the heads of her enemies to protect her babies.”

 

The man looked at the photographer in confusion, it was just a second he took his eyes off the girl but once he looked back at her it was too late, a brown/green eyed demon made him her prey.

 

Akihito refused to look, he closed his eyes and waited to the outcome. He heard a shot fired really close to him but he felt no pain, as soon as the bang was heard the grip on him loosened and struggle sounds took their place. He tried to focus on something else, anything but the sounds of flesh being smashed and bones broken. Soon enough a soft hand took his.

 

“It’s ok, Akihito-san. You can look now.”

 

The photographer opened his eyes and Sayuri flashed him a small smile. She was fine. The hand around his tightened his grip and the girl pulled him the rest of the way to the parking lot, as they crossed the door with the corner of his eye he saw the man lying in the ground, his legs in an awkward angle and a puddle of blood forming below him. ‘ _Don’t mess with a neko-mama.’_ The blond closed his eyes for a second to compose himself and continued to run with renovated strength.

 

The parking lot wasn’t empty, as soon as they went through the door Akihito felt the soft hand go and saw Sayuri launch herself at them.

 

“Take your bike!”

 

Akihito did as she told him, the photographer ran to his bike while the young woman fought the men off. He reached it and stretched his hand to grab his helmet when a body tackled him to the ground, the heavy weight was over his chest and made it difficult to breathe so Akihito used as much strength as he could muster and pushed it away from him.

 

He rolled over to stand but was harshly pulled to a side, the blond found his balance and kneeled the man in the stomach, successfully knocking him off. They struggled for control, he man tried to immobilize Akihito but the slender photographer was able to slip away from his grip.

 

The man grabbed the strap of his camera bag to drag Akihito nearer and the blond found himself unable to move away, he twisted his body uncomfortably until he managed to take the camera bag off his shoulder, once free he kicked the man in the groin and then threw the camera bag to his head.

 

The man stumbled backwards but gave no signs to surrender; Akihito took some steps back waiting for the right moment to attack again.

 

The moment never came.

 

An onyx colored bike appeared from behind and with a spin threw the man against the wall and away from the photographer, the driver turned to face Akihito and the blond man could feel the intense stare even through the driver’s helmet.

 

“Get on your bike and follow me, Akihito-san.”

 

Akihito did as he was told, he placed his helmet on his head and followed Sayuri on his bike towards the busy streets of late afternoon Tokyo. They drove a long way using both main streets for speed but also some alleys for safety, by the time they arrived to their new location the sun was gone from the sky and the moon illuminated their way.

 

It was until they stopped in front of another building that Akihito realized he no longer had his camera with him.

 

Sayuri opened the gate from the small house and they entered with their bikes to a small garage. The one floor house was smaller than the last one but held the same cozy feeling and the location was also convenient for a fast escape. They made their way to the living room where the girl started moving around gathering medical supplies.

 

For the first time after the whole incident Akihito really looked at the girl in front of him, cuts and bruises covered her arms and she was covered in blood, someone else’s blood. A particular fresh red spot in her abdomen caught his attention; it was the same place where she had been stabbed three days before.

 

“You are bleeding! Are you okay?”

 

The young woman stopped what she was doing and looked at her abdomen, second later she resumed her activities.

 

“A couple of staples popped off, don’t worry about it, I will just staple it again. Now, let me take a look at you.”

 

Sayuri checked the photographer all over in search for injuries but found nothing more than small cuts and already forming bruises, she cleaned the cuts and gave Akihito an ointment to apply to the bruises after he showered.

 

The young man left Sayuri in the living room to tend to her own wounds while he showered; he was covered in sweat, blood and dirt. He felt disgusting. He entered the only bathroom and stripped down avoiding his reflection in the mirror, he didn’t want to look at himself, he didn’t want to see the evidence of the recent events on his body.

 

Akihito let the splash of water wash away his thoughts along with the dirt, he focused on the feeling of the water against his skin and the steam flowing around him while he tried to calm his racing heart. After what felt like years his heartbeat could be considered normal again and Akihito decided to stop thinking for the night, he could go over everything the next morning.

 

He stretched his arm and grabbed the bottle of shampoo, he squished the liquid on his hands and the sweet smell made him chance his focus, _Tangerine_ , he realized that was her smell, sweet and delicate tangerine that left its trail behind where she had passed, but just as this thought came to his mind so did another one. _‘In the other safehouse my bathroom had apple scented shampoo, MY shampoo.’_ He washed himself thoughtfully letting the scent melt in his skin.

 

When he came back to the living room he found the young woman pressing her hand to her abdomen, a stapler resting in the coffee table next to bloodied bandages.

 

“I apologize, Akihito-san. I never imagined they could find us so soon, I expected them to do it in at least another day, I underestimated them and put you in danger.” 

 

“No, it’s not your fault. You did your job just right and we are still alive so it’s fine, really. “

 

“Also, as you had noticed this house is small, it just have one room so please use it, I will take the couch.”

 

“What? Absolutely no, you are wounded and need proper rest, I can take the couch.”

 

“Absolutely no, I need you to be fully rested so you can function at full capacity at all times, you take the bed, I’m completely fine.”

 

“Fine, we can share the bed, I don’t mind.”

 

“That’s another no, I don’t want Asami-sama to gut me alive if he finds out. So no, you bed, me couch. End of discussion.”

 

They stared into each other’s eyes for several minutes, none of them wanting to give in. Finally the blond man realized there was no way he could win that fight and after a harsh ‘ _fine’_ he disappeared into the room to emerge moments later with a blanket and a pillow. He threw the items at the girl and glared at her again. He turned around and made his way back to the room but stopped in front of the door.

 

“Why did you go out of your way to have apple scented shampoo for me in the other house?”

 

“I had it there since the sniper incident, I knew that was the place where I would take you if things turned out that way and I wanted you to have something familiar to make it less… shocking. I know it’s silly but… I thought it might help…”

 

“It did, I just didn’t notice until I showered here. I… ahm… thank you.”

 

Without waiting for an answer the photographer disappeared inside the room and closed the door. He knew a new nightmare was waiting for him but he felt so tired that he couldn’t care less.

 

***

 

Day four and five passed in a rush with a routine in hand. Breakfast in early morning followed by self-defense lessons the Spartan way, then a break for lunch and then a new training. How to use a gun and not to die in the process. Sayuri had insisted on teaching him the basics in case he found himself in a situation where he needed to use a gun, she approached everything useful for a novice, from the proper way to aim and steady the shot to maintenance and cleaning. Then came dinner and by the end of the day an exhausted Akihito crashed in his bed to repeat the same thing the next day.

 

 The night of the fifth day Akihito emerged from the shower to find Sayuri in the living room dressed in all black light weight combat gear, the young woman took another set of clothes and passed them to the photographer urging him to change into them.

 

Once he was dressed for the occasion he joined the girl back in the living room.

 

“We will move tonight. We both know neither of us is the type of person to stay still and wait for rescue so we will rescue ourselves. This is the plan.”

 

They passed the next hour reviewing every detail of the plan, the photographer looked at the detailed blueprints displayed in front of him and wondered where did she got them from but decided it was better to not know. The young woman handed to him a couple of guns and a set of knives and the blond placed them on the pockets of his combat gear where he felt it was easier for him to get them if needed.

 

“Now, your clothes will protect you, the fabric is lightweight to move easily but very resistant, also the jacket is bulletproof but that doesn’t mean you can jump into action without thinking. I don’t expect _them_ to be anywhere near us but I prefer to be cautious just in case. I don’t expect us to be in a situation where we will need our weapons but keep them at reach nonetheless. We won’t have any sort of communication device since I don’t know how far their hacking reach is and we will not take any chances, the same as in the safehouse applies, if we get separated you go to Sion and I buy time. I need you to follow every instruction I give you, if I say ‘run’ you sprint as fast as you can, if I say ‘hide’ you make sure not even me is able to find you, if I say ‘get away and leave me behind’ you start running and don’t look back, no buts, no what ifs, you just do as I say, got it?”

 

Akihito stared at her eyes and saw the determination firing in them, he answered with a nod and his own fire in his eyes.  They left the house as quiet as possible; the only sound heard was the gentle rumble of their bikes when they rode them.

 

The streets of midnight Tokyo were empty, fast and efficiently the two young adults made their way through the fresh night breeze. Once in Shinjuku the streets became alive once again, hey changed their route to the alleys and after what seemed an eternity they arrived at their destination.

 

It was an old office building just a couple of blocks away from Sion, making sure no one saw them they hid their bikes in the parking lot and walked their way through the shadows to the next building.

 

A small traditional store.

 

Sayuri lead him to the back of the store and with expert ease picked the lock and entered, the photographer followed her closely behind, covering the back while she made sure the place was clear. They moved through the small office and located the storage room, the young woman picked the lock again and soon enough they were surrounded by boxes of unopened merchandise.

 

“Help me move this one.”

 

The girl signaled a big heavy box near the corner, Akihito did as he was told and the heavy box was moved to reveal a small trap door below. Sayuri signaled Akihito to step back, the young woman took out her gun and pointed it to the door while she opened it.

 

Empty. Just the metal ladder she knew would be there.

 

She was the first one to go down the ladder, keeping her gun ready at all times. Akihito followed her once she signaled him to do so, the photographer was careful to securely close the trap door once he was inside.  They moved through a series of underground tunnels, the only light they had were of flashlights, it was like a labyrinth but the young woman leading them seemed to know exactly the way.

 

“That bastard, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had an underground city below Tokyo.”

 

“He doesn’t but don’t tell him that, he could easily transform these emergency tunnels into streets in to time.”

 

They walked through the tunnels in complete silence the rest of the way, both of them kept their ears open to any sound that could reveal a threat. Their trip was slow but safe and after twenty minutes they were faced with another metal ladder, this time to go up a new trap door.

 

They repeated the same process, Sayuri went first and Akihito followed, once on the other side of the trap door the photographer recognized the place immediately, he had only been there once after his days wandering around to kill boredom.

 

They were in one of Sion’s underground parking levels. The young woman raised her gun in front of her and leaded the way through the deserted space until the staircase. It was the riskiest part of the plan, they could not afford to be seen by anyone, at that point they were not sure who the mole was so any guard was a suspect. No, they needed to get to the only place they knew they would be safe and they needed to make it without been seen. Not by a guard, not by a camera.

 

The fly through the stairwell was tense but fortunately uneventful. They reached the first floor of the building in no time and peeked through the door. A guard was making his rounds while another was on his permanent post.

 

“Stay here, don’t move a muscle.”

 

Sayuri waited for the guard making rounds to disappear through a corner to go pass the door and silently approach the guard in his post. Akihito watched her move close to the floor, with precise and somehow graceful movements covered by the shadows she made her way behind the man without making a sound.

 

_‘Now I know why your code name is Neko, you are a sneaky cat.”_

Before the man knew what was happening, Sayuri knocked him out with a fast hand movement Akihito couldn’t decipher, the man’s fall was interrupted by her arms easing his way down to avoid any sound only to drag him below his desk to hide him.

 

The guard doing his rounds came back and approached the desk as soon as he noticed the other guard gone, when he was at reach and before he could take his radio out to inform a thing a fast young woman came out of nowhere, applied a neck lock to him and seconds later he was joining his fellow guard below the desk.

 

Sayuri signaled Akihito to come out and the photographer obeyed, he followed her to a corner in front of a small grid near the floor. He looked around to make sure they were alone while the young woman busied herself taking the grid out.

 

“Welcome to Sion’s ventilation system, Akihito-san.”

 

 The photographer gave her a mischievous grin and slide his body through the aperture, the girl followed him behind and struggled to place the grid back in place. Once in the ventilation system, they squeezed their bodies to change their positions and the young woman leaded the way again. They crawled for a long time until they reached an upright duct and climbed their way up, the path became a mixture of crawling and climbing until they reached another grid.

 

“Ok, Akihito-san. This part is a little tricky. Sion’s ventilation system is divided in five sections, both for constructive purposes and also safety. So we will have to change from one section to another and the only way to do that is to get out, find the next grid and get in there, so that means we will be exposed in some floors while we reach the next section. “

 

The photographer nodded in understanding. The young woman handed him a small black device and urged him to take it.

 

“It’s a signal blocker, it’s pretty old but it will help us. Press that button and all the cameras within 10 meters will freeze showing the same image. Green light means on, red light means off. You will press that when we are certain there are no guards nearby, we will be able to move without the cameras catching us but we have to stay alert for the guards. If we get caught you continue your way using that to stay away from sight while I entertain them for a while. Ok?”

 

Akihito nodded again. After his response Sayuri proceeded to check if there were guards in the floor and took off the grid in front of her, she nodded in his direction and the photographer pressed the button. A small green light emerged from the top as a red one disappeared.

 

Moving as fast as possible they got out of the duct and placed the grid again on its place, they silently ran to get to the next section on the other side of the hall. Akihito spotted the right grid on the ceiling and both of the stopped below it.

 

“It’s too high, I will need you to lift me, Akihito-san.”

 

The photographer crouched and allowed the girl to sit I his shoulders, when he stood up she was able to reach the grid in an awkward position but went along with it. Footsteps echoes through the hall and the blond man looked worriedly to the corner, waiting for the appearance of a guard any moment.

 

Sayuri took off the grid and jumped from his shoulders.

 

“Up you go, Akihito-san.”

 

Before the photographer could say a thing the young woman was already in position to help him up creating a support for him with both of her hands. With the increasing sounds of footsteps approaching Akihito decided to just go with it, he placed his foot in her hands and immediately felt the strong lift easing him to the aperture in the ceiling, as fast as he could he maneuvered his body until he was completely inside the duct. He peeked his head and Sayuri handed him the grid so she could have free hands to move, as soon as the metal piece was on his hands he saw the girl kick hard the wall next to her to propel her body and reach the duct with one hand.

 

With Akihito’s help she managed to pass her body and place the grid on place just before a guard walked below them.

 

Both young adults released a breath, that was close. Akihito turned off the signal blocker and they continued their way through the ventilation system repeating the same process four more times, founding themselves in need of knocking a guard out the last time and hid him in a janitor’s closet.

 

The process was slow but within two hours they had managed to go through the entirety of floors and found themselves at Sion’s roof top.

 

Once out the ducts and after making sure the signal blocker was on again they allowed themselves some minutes to stretch their muscles and breathe some fresh air.

 

“Now what, Sayuri -Neko-san?”

 

“Now, we finish the neko smuggling. There is only one way to access Asami-sama’s office: through the door, but there are two ways to get out: the door and the escape tunnel. Just as in the penthouse Asami-sama has a direct escape route from his office to the rooftop, it’s meant to just be used as a one way route but, as we are breaking all of the rules already, we will use it to go inside.”

 

Sayuri lead him to a far corner of the roof, there, Akihito saw a small metal trap door, identical as the one in the penthouse roof, immediately the girl put hands on action to continue their journey.

 

“It has several alarms and security systems attached to guarantee it’s not opened from here so we will have to work around those, please be ready for…”

 

The young woman trailed off, as soon as she tried to find the first alarm she found it deactivated and the door was open, taking her gun out and aiming it in front of her she entered the passage and checked on the rest of the security systems, moments later she emerged and faced the photographer.

 

“Akihito-san, everything is deactivated. This could be a trap set for us or for Asami-sama, please find a place to hide and don’t leave it until I come for you, I will go all the way down to Asami-sama’s office and see what we are facing, if I don’t come back in five minutes close the door, use the ventilation system to go back inside and find a place to hide until you are able to contact Asami-sama.”

 

The blond gave a hesitant nod but retreat to hide away from the door, Akihito found a good spot near the ventilation exits where he could be in a comfortable position and also he could go back into the ducts fast if he needed to. He could hear his blood rushing through his veins, his pulse was audible in his ears and his heartbeat raced while he waited.

 

They had made it so far, _they_ couldn’t catch him there and then, could they? No, he needed to calm down, Sayuri was a professional and everything was going to be just fine. Akihito closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, counting the inhales and exhales he managed to regulate it and his heartbeat slowed down to a normal pace.

 

The sound footsteps reached his ears and he focused on them, he held his breath and staid as still as possible.

 

“Akihito-san, it’s safe to come out.”

 

The breeze-like voice he was praying to hear reached his eras and he released his breath, slowly he uncurled from his hiding spot and joined the young woman next to the metal trap door. The exchanged glances and nodded; again Sayuri went first with her gun raised while Akihito followed closely behind.

 

The passage was entirely covered with steel, it felt like a large and narrow bunker. Again they used their flashlights to illuminate their path while both of them kept their senses in maximum alert in case something came out of nowhere; they covered for one another when ladders appeared to lead them down.

 

But nothing came.

 

A couple of minutes later they arrived at the end of the tunnel, another metal door in the ceiling signaled the end of their journey. Sayuri climbed the ladder below it and opened it, sliding her body up seconds later to disappear in the other side. Akihito followed right behind, to his surprise the space he emerged to was pretty small, he was below Asami’s desk.

 

“Since when is that here? I don’t remember it!”

 

“Since the very beginning, close it and you will see why you didn’t notice it earlier.”

 

Akihito closed the door and understood right away what she meant, the door was covered in the same material as the floor in such a way that when closed it merged perfectly with it, you couldn’t find it unless you knew it was there.

 

“Ok, keep your eyes open, if anything happens you go back to that tunnel, to open the door all you need to do is press the door down hard until you hear a click and it will open automatically. Its 5am now, Asami-sama or Kirishima-san won’t arrive until like 12 or so, the only thing left to do is to wait.”

 

***

 

His office what completely dark, with the thick curtains drew no light from the outside came through, he searched the shadows for a sign of danger, his finger ready to pull the trigger until something grabbed his attention. A smell.

 

Sweet and delicate.

 

Tangerine.

 

Lowering his gun, the crime lord let the tension slip away from his shoulder. A chuckle left his throat and a smirk appeared on his lips.

 

“It’s me, Natsume. It’s safe to come out.”

 

In the corner of his office, protected by the shadows he saw a figure emerge from behind his bookshelf. The figure had a gun in its hands but lowered it immediately after confirming the crime lord’s words, the figure bowed and holstered back its gun.

 

“It’s so nice to see you again, Asami-sama.”

 

Asami reached to turn on the lights, once the room was illuminated he could see the young woman in combat gear waiting patiently in the corner. His eyes roamed the office searching for what he yearned to see the most. For whom he craved to have in his arms again.

 

A frown formed in his face when he could find him.

 

He parted his lips to ask the young woman where that person was when movement behind his desk caught his eyes.

 

There he was, standing up from behind the solid desk appeared a mop of blond hair. Akihito stood up and faced the crime lord, a big grin lighting up his face that made the crime lord smirk back.

 

Finally, fierce blue eyes looked back at him.

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! That was long! A new personal record, yay!
> 
> Also, yes, kitchen and cleaning products can be dangerous, please be sure to check out the labels to identify the toxic, flamable and explosive products you might have at home and make sure you storage them properly and always, and I mean ALWAYS, keep them away from pets, children, heat sources and direct fire. Be aware that a lot of them not only could potentially explode but also release toxic substances and we don't want that, but if you manage them properly there should be nothing to worry about.


	28. Red heels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rest, chases and revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> WARNING: RIDICULOSLY LONG AUTOR’S NOTE AHEAD.
> 
> I’m back, haha. So sorry for the delay… again… The last couple of weeks have been ones of the most stressful and emotionally draining I have ever had in my short life, because of that I couldn’t find myself in a good mood to write for a long time, I struggled to get this done but by writing some paragraphs daily, slowly it got done so here it is. I apologize beforehand if this is not as good as it could be, I still feel quite down to be honest. 
> 
> Well, not much to say this time, just something that I really want to take out of my chest, it is not relevant to the plot, in fact, it’s completely unrelated so if you want to skip it and go straight to the chapter go ahead, but I would appreciate it if you take a couple of minutes to read the next paragraphs and maybe reflex a little.
> 
> Please, next time you leave home to work, school, or wherever you need to go, please, hug your loved ones and tell them you love them. As you might know in September 19 a powerful earthquake hit Mexico, in a matter of seconds some buildings were destroyed and families found themselves separated. Hundreds of them will never see a loved one again. I am part of the lucky ones whose family and home are just fine, but I’ve got to see parts of my city gone. A lot of lives stopped that day, mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers, friends, children and pets, a lot of people lost someone they loved.
> 
> Nature is a force of great power, not to be feared but to be respected. All of us can find ourselves in similar situations like that one someday, could be another earthquake, could be a hurricane, could be a volcano, could be so many things. Things that we can’t stop but we can be prepared for but also it could be something we never saw coming. Life is so precious but at the same time so fragile, we are used to go out like nothing could ever happen to us but that’s not true. I’m not telling you to be all paranoid, build a bunker and never see sun light again, no. The only thing I want you to reflex on is the fact that death can be just around the corner for anyone so live your life without regrets (in a responsible way, please) and never, NEVER forget to say “I love you” to those important to you (fur babies included).
> 
> It’s been almost a month now and the fight is still on, thousands still don’t have a home to go back to, this is only getting started but so do us.
> 
> Fortunately, if something characterizes Mexicans is our resilience, to live in our country is not easy but is also beautiful, we affront a lot of different things on the daily but also we help each other unconditionally and we are stubborn as hell so we don’t give up easily. I’ve got to see parts of my city gone but also the rest of the country working together to pick them up. It’s sad but life doesn’t wait for anyone so we have to move on, it will take time, but we will get through this, we are strong (and stubborn) so we will pick up our pieces and build something better from them. During hard times we don’t cry, we sing. 
> 
> Ok, with that out of my chest I have nothing else to say to you other than thank you for taking your time to read those thoughts of mine. Now, back to the story! 
> 
> I hope you made your bets because we are about to find out the truth. Well… just some of it. This one is again a loooooong chapter so get comfortable before you start.
> 
> Thank you for your support, I know I say this all the time but you have no idea how happy you make me, when I started this I never expected it to have more than 100 hits, we are now way above 15,000 and I’m so grateful for that. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this story, to leave a comment or leave a kudo, I have no words to tell you how much I appreciate it. Thank you.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 28. RED HEELS.**

 

The morning was quiet and a little cold but what bothered him the most was the darkness, he was aware they could not turn on the lights because they could be found that way but the black view in front of him made him nervous.

 

They waited in that lonely office for hours, always with all of their senses on alert even if exhaustion threatened to take over their bodies. The minutes kept passing by until footsteps in the hall outside the office alerted them from movement, the young guard instructed him to go to his position and soon enough he found himself below the desk ready to open the secret door in case he needed to escape.

 

Still surrounded by darkness he focused on the sounds, he heard the doorknob turn slowly and then the door opened, soft footsteps entered the office but the lights remained off. His heart raced threating to fly out of his chest; he could hear his heartbeat in his ears, he could feel his sweat running down his spine and he could smell… cologne, expensive cologne.

 

His heart stopped after the realization, he knew that smell. As soon as his brain processed the information he heard the baritone voice he was waiting for followed by the click of the lights turned on. This time his heart didn’t race for the same reason it did seconds ago, the feeling was completely different, it took him some moments to get his body moving, slowly he crawled from under the desk and stood up to face the man he craved to see.

 

Those golden eyes sparked with a mixture of emotions he could not decipher but he didn’t care at the time, the only thing that mattered was that those eyes were watching him, that he was finally back to that man’s side.

 

He couldn’t help the big grin that appeared in his face.

 

“Hey, Asami. Looks like your fortress is not impenetrable after all.”

 

A smirk answered him back followed by a light chuckle.

 

“Looks like it.”

 

Their eyes stayed locked, each of them taking in the other one, the time seemed to elongate until the door opened abruptly followed by a frantic Kirishima and a serious looking Suoh with their guns out ready to shot.

 

“Asami-sama, the building has been compromised; we found two guards knocked out in the first floor.”

 

 Tearing his eyes apart from the golden ones, Akihito crossed sights with the stressed secretary, with his grin still on place he watched the shock pass across the man’s face, he could almost see Kirishima’s brain short-circuiting.

 

“About that… there is another one three floors below in a janitor’s closet…”

 

Akihito turned to the soft voice and saw Sayuri grinning mischievously at Kirishima, almost immediately he saw the tension leaving the shoulders of both the secretary and Suoh, at the same time he felt at ease and finally… safe.

 

“I see you got to use the little help I left for you.”

 

“So it was you, Suoh-san. Makes sense, only you, Kirishima-san and Asami-sama knows how to deactivate the security system in the tunnel.”

 

“I thought it might be useful and I was sure you could find your way to the roof top.”

 

Akihito stopped listening at their conversation, instead he focused his attention back to the raven crime lord who hadn´t taken his eyes away from him. His legs finally found the strength to move forward and he made his way to Asami’s side. The crime lord cupped his face with one hand and stared right into his eyes, he seemed to find what he was looking for because when he let go a satisfied smirk was on his lips.

 

“I want to know what happened, in extreme detail.”

 

“Of course, Asami-sama.”

 

The five of them sat on the sofas of the office, Suoh and Kirishima shared one, Sayuri was across them and Akihito shared the last one with Asami, discreetly leaning on his shoulder. He needed to feel him close, to know he was there.

 

Sayuri and Akihito told everything that had happened since the ambush in the warehouse up to their arrival to Sion. Every detail was shared, once their narration was over the three men staid silent, deep in thought.

 

“We kept the search for the mole and narrowed it down to three suspects but we won’t discuss this here. Asami-sama, I think is best to kept acting like Takaba-sama and Natsume-san are still missing, at least until the mole is identified. We should relocate them to another safehouse and you should keep your appointments as planned for today as not to raise suspicion.”

 

“I agree. But cancel all my meetings scheduled for tomorrow morning.”

 

“Yes, Asami-sama.”

 

The next minutes passed by with quick exchanges between the three men, the young photographer understood it was about the logistics for their relocation but couldn’t keep up with everything that was said. He turned his sight to Sayuri to ask for help but stopped as soon as he saw her, face pale and dark circles below her eyes were a constant those days but what surprised him was the blank look in her eyes, like she was disconnected.

 

“Sayuri?”

 

The three men stopped talking to look at the girl who kept staring at nothingness.

 

“Natsume-san?”

 

Still no response. Kirishima got up from his seat and kneeled in front of her, calling her name again.

 

“Natsume-san.”

 

The girl startled and suddenly the light in her eyes was back, she looked at the secretary in front of her in confusion.

 

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

 

“When was the last time you slept?”

 

She turned down her gaze avoiding any eye contact, Kirishima didn’t say anything more but the intensity of his stare was enough to pierce a hole through her head; finally the girl succumbed to the silent pressure.

 

“Three… days… ago…” 

 

“And how much time you slept at once the other two days?”

 

“Two hours… maybe three.”

 

Akihito opened his eyes in surprise, he had slept at least 6 hours every day, the young woman had made sure of it but he never realized she wasn’t sleeping properly. Thinking back he remembered her staying up when he left for the day and she was already working when he waked the next day, he made an effort to remember the blanket and pillow he gave her in the second safehouse and recalled in his memory that he found those items in the same position for the rest of their stay there, completely untouched.

 

A deep sigh brought him back to the present; Kirishima pushed his glasses up his nose and stood from his crouching position. He looked like a parent who was about to lecture his child, he opened his mouth to say something but Asami was faster.

 

“We can discuss that later. Kirishima, Suoh, make the arrangements necessary for our departure to the new safehouse in complete secrecy. We will meet here in half an hour. Natsume, you stay here. Akihito, come with me.”

 

The secretary and the chief of security gave a sharp nod and left the office immediately,  Akihito felt a warm hand take his and soon enough Asami was pulling him out of the office too leaving a confused Sayuri behind.

 

They walked through the hall all and entered a room that soon enough Akihito recognized as Asami’s private rest room.  As soon as the door closed behind them Akihito found himself being turned to face those intense golden eyes again. The crime lord pushed him gently to make him spin slowly before him, his eyes took every centimeter of visible skin searching for injuries or signs of discomfort or pain. When Asami apparently was pleased with what he saw he circled his arm around the blonde’s waist and crushed their lips together in a rushed kiss.  


With their lips still locked Asami pushed the young man backwards until they hit the sofa, by the time they separated for oxygen Akihito was panting softly and a light pink blush tinted his cheeks, Asami saw into his eyes and saw the desire in them.

 

Akihito felt the crime lord’s lips against his again and answered the kiss with his own initiative, at some point he felt he was already leaning against the sofa while a warm hand wandered through his chest below his shirt, he didn’t know when his combat gear jacket had been taken off him.  Seconds later the shirt was gone too and the photographer covered his mouth with one hand in an attempt to muffle his moans as Asami bit softly at one of his nipples.

 

“Don’t, I want to hear your voice. We don’t have much time so we will have to be quick.”

 

With his eyes focused on the golden one the young man felt Asami’s warm hand placing over his own above his mouth and pulled it away as the same time the raven’s other hand passed the hem of his pants and brushed against Akihito’s hardness.

 

The photographer didn’t make any other attempt to muffle the sounds that left his throat anymore; loud moans filled the room as more clothes found their way to the floor.

 

***

 

Thirty minutes later Akihito left the private rest room with Asami behind him, both men freshly showered, Akihito with a light blush in his face and Asami with a smirk in his.

 

They met Kirishima and Suoh before they entered Asami’s office, both men exited the elevator and greeted their boss.

 

“Asami-sama, everything is prepared, we can part immediately if you wish.”

 

“Good.”

 

The four men entered the office and stopped as soon as the door closed behind them, in the couch they saw a curled up Sayuri deep asleep. Akihito stayed by the door as Asami and Kirishima took some documents from the desk while Suoh scooped up the sleeping girl in his arms.

 

Once they had everything they needed the group made their way to the underground parking lot, Asami and Akihito were to ride with Kirishima while Suoh was to follow them behind with Sayuri. No limos involved, they moved through the city in plain untraceable black cars careful to not be followed.

 

The drive was not long, it took only half an hour to reach their destination. A big traditional house came to view, very similar to the one where Asami and his men were ambushed so many weeks before.

 

“Akihito, you and Natsume will stay here until its safe, Suoh will stay with you today to keep an eye on you while you two rest and Hayashi-sensei will be here to check your injuries shortly. Kirishima and I need to keep today’s schedule.”

 

Before he could formulate an answer Akihito was pushed inside the house and Asami was gone, the photographer stayed in the living room checking out his surroundings until he heard footsteps walking down the stairs and Suoh emerged from the hall.

 

“Is she Ok? I didn’t notice she hadn’t slept at all…”

 

“She is dead to the world right now but she will be fine. And don’t worry; she is an expert in hiding that kind of things, her record is five days and nine hours straight without sleep.”

 

The photographer stared at the blond guard with his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of the water. He couldn’t believe what he just heard, just the thought of two consecutive all-nighters in their circumstances made him shiver. He opened his mouth to ask something but a knock in the door stopped him.

 

The bulky bodyguard drew his gun close and approached the door, Akihito heard him said something to the person on the other side but didn’t understand what was said, a feminine voice answered him back and Suoh holstered back his gun as he opened the door to reveal Hayashi-sensei.

 

“Asami-san said it was an emergency… Takaba-kun! It’s so nice to see you! Asami-san told me you were missing, I’m glad you are back in one piece. Let’s get started and let me check you up.”

 

“You should see Sayuri first, I’m fine but she has a stab wound in her abdomen that worries me.”

 

“Very well then, I’ll see to her first.”

 

Suoh left the room with Hayashi-sensei behind him, Akihito was left alone in the living room and after a couple of minutes decided it would be the best if he got knowing of his surroundings so the photographer started to explore the house.

 

The first floor had a large living room, a fully equipped kitchen with an enormous pantry, a large dining room, a small bathroom, a large studio and a bedroom. After checking the contents of the pantry the photographer made his way to the second floor where he found another office on one end, four bedrooms, two at each side of the hall but the one next to the stairs was closed, two bathrooms, and the master bedroom. He noticed that room was the only one of the bedrooms with wooden floor and a bed (and its own bathroom), the rest of the bedrooms had tatami floors and futons.

 

After two laps through the whole house, the young photographer sat on the bed of the master bedroom and pulled anxiously the hem of his sleeve. He wasn’t wearing combat gear since he showered in Asami’s restroom at Sion; secretly he wondered why Asami had clothes that fitted him there.

 

The sound of a door sliding close grabbed his attention, he stood and opened the door to see into the hall, from the bedroom next to the stairs emerged Hayashi-sensei followed by Suoh with Sayuri’s combat gear in one arm.

 

“Your turn, Takaba-kun.”

 

Suoh excused himself as he went downstairs to start safety protocols while the doctor followed Akihito into the master bedroom. As he sat on the bed again concerned blue eyes stared directly at the doctors, giving away his intern turmoil.

 

“How is she? She will be fine, right?”

 

“Yes, she will make a full recovery in no time. Natsume-chan has minor cuts and some large bruises all over her body, she also has symptoms of exhaustion plus a light fever caused by a starting infection on her stab wound. I already stitched her properly and gave her some antibiotics; with good rest she will be just fine. She will sleep probably until tomorrow noon since I also gave her some painkillers that will knock her out so don’t worry if you don’t see her around in the morning.”

 

Akihito released the breath he was holding and felt lighter, _‘She will be fine, she won’t die because of me, she will be fine.’_ He felt Hayashi-sensei’s gentle hand push him down to lean on the headboard.

 

“She will be fine. Now, let me take a look at you to be sure you will be fine too.”

 

He let the doctor take his shirt off and examine his torso, back and arms with gentle fingers, she pressed in some spots and in a few of them he grunted in pain. Hayashi-sensei cleaned all the cuts she could find and applied ointment to the bruises that colored his skin in different shades of purple and green, she moved his limbs and tested his muscles. They repeated the same procedure in his lower body and after fifteen minutes Akihito was dressed again. The doctor passed her fingers through his head and checked for bumps there, she flashed a light before his eyes, she asked some questions, Akihito answered them and soon enough she was done. 

 

“Everything is fine. You have a couple of small bumps on the back of your head but no concussion whatsoever, neither of the cuts in your body needs stitches, you don’t have any tore muscle either. You have quite an amount of bruises but they are healing well and you have no broken ribs or bones. I could see your wounds had been well taken care of.”

 

Akihito smiled, Sayuri had made her mission to clean and dress his wounds every day. He thanked the doctor and saw her to the door once she excused herself for the day, she promised to come back the next day to check on the young woman again and to be sure nothing else came to view after a good night sleep.

 

The sun was still high in the sky but the photographer started to feel tired, the week had proven to be hard and after the all-nighter in Asami’s office his energy was drained. Once he was sure Sayuri was fine and he was safe the adrenaline stopped rushing in his veins and the exhaustion took its place, it was time to have some rest.

 

A growl changed his thoughts; maybe he could grab something to eat before crashing in the bed.

 

Remembering the contents of the pantry, Akihito entered the kitchen and planned a quick menu he could eat at the moment but also would feed Asami once the crime lord returned. Settling for something easy and fast he took the ingredients needed and started cocking.

 

The omurice was done in a few minutes and the young blond ate with satisfaction, he left Asami’s portion on the fridge along with one for Kirishima and another one for Suoh.

 

Stomach full and heart at ease, Akihito went back to the master bedroom, stripped down to his boxers and climbed to bed with a yawn. It was soft and comfy, it didn’t take long before his eyelids started to close and his breathing evened out, he welcomed the dream realm feeling safe for the first time since their escape.

 

***

 

It was a peaceful night, no dreams but no nightmares either, just the bliss of ease and comfort. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the first rays of early morning sunlight filter through the window, Akihito knew he had slept for a long time but didn’t felt the grogginess that normally came with it, and instead he felt fully rested and alert. He stretched his limbs and felt movement beside him, he rolled to face the other side of the bed and saw Asami asleep, it was then when he noticed the warm arm that rested above his hip.

 

An intense warm feeling invaded his chest and he snuggled closer to the sleeping man, Akihito buried his face in the other man’s chest, inhaling his scent and letting it flood his senses.

 

The arm above him circled his waist and pulled him closer, he tried to melt into that strong chest as he felt the vibrations of that deep voice rumble in his ear.

 

“Good morning, Akihito.”

 

“Good morning, Asami. Didn’t notice you when you arrived, you should have woken me up.”

 

“It was late and you looked tired so I thought it was best to let you sleep.”

 

“You look tired too, you should sleep more before you have to go back to work.”

 

“I cleared today’s schedule, we have time.”

 

They stayed in a comfortable silence for several minutes, they didn’t move, Akihito kept snuggling against Asami’s chest while the crime lord softly ran his fingers over his back and arms. The photographer got lost in the sensation, gentle and smoothing which mixed with the musky scent made him melt and almost doze off again.

 

He notices the warm hand started to rub circles and seemed to focus on one specific spot, he opened his eyes and looked down to see Asami was gently rubbing a particular big bruise on his side.

 

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

 

The hand kept moving while the other one tightened his hold pulling him even more into his embrace.

 

“You are safe now.”

 

“I know.”

 

Akihito raised his head and reached for the crime lord’s lips with his own; the kiss was soft and gentle but quickly turned demanding and full of lust. Hands began to wander around and explore the other’s body trying to memorize every curve and line and before they could say anything all their clothes were gone and they found themselves enjoying the sensation of their skins touching each other.

 

In the back of his mind, Akihito was aware they were not alone in the safehouse and someone might hear them but the heavenly sensation of Asami’s skin against his own overcame his senses and his mind got lost in the pleasure the raven man gave him.

 

***

 

It was around nine in the morning when the photographer decided it was best to start the day so he untangled himself from the sleeping crime lord’s arms and took a quick shower; in the closet he found clothes that fitted him perfectly next to a series of Asami size designer suits. They were certainly prepared for emergencies.

 

He closed the door careful to not wake the raven and made his way through the hall, the photographer stopped in front of the door of the bedroom next to the stairs. After a deep breath he knocked softly and slid the door as soundless as he could.

 

His eyes fell on the figure in the middle of the room, there in a futon covered with heavy blankets was Sayuri sleeping peacefully.

 

Akihito approached carefully making sure his foot made no sound against the tatami floor, he knelt by her side and reached his arm out to touch her forehead.

 

The fever was gone.

 

His lips formed a new smile and at the same time the door slid open again, Suoh entered the room and greeted Akihito with a smile of his own.

 

“Morning, Takaba. Her fever broke around 2am, she will be fine. How are you feeling?”

 

“I’m fine, I just wanted to check on her. Do you want some breakfast? I was about to fix something.”

 

The guard nodded and agreement and Akihito left the room towards the kitchen.

 

With his phone playing music in a moderate volume he moved around the kitchen to make breakfast, a smile formed in his face when he noticed the omurice portions he left for the others the day before where gone.

 

He decided in a Japanese breakfast, they needed the energy after the past week and a full breakfast was his idea of recuperating strength. He focused on his task at hand and prepared everything he was going to need. Half an hour later he found himself grapping up the cocking, he had finished faster than expected.

 

As he was setting the table he heard the front door opening, his heart raced and instinctively he grabbed the largest knife he saw and placed himself in a better position to see but not being seen next to the fridge. Footsteps made their way to his location and a tall figure entered the kitchen.

 

It was Kirishima.

 

“Glasses! You scared me!”

 

Akihito released a breath he didn’t realize was holding while the secretary turned to face the photographer. The young man made an effort to calm down his racing heart.

 

“Sorry for that, Takaba-kun, it was not my intention. What is that knife for?”

 

“Nothing important.”

 

The secretary arched an eyebrow, Akihito placed the knife back to its drawer and approached the stove again.

 

“You arrived just in time, breakfast is ready. Can you go fetch Asami while I plate everything up, please?”

 

Kirishima nodded and disappeared into the hall, the photographer set the table and by the time all the food was plated Kirishima was back following a perfectly dressed Asami. Suoh joined them minutes later.

 

Breakfast was silent but not uncomfortable, well, at least not for Akihito but Kirishima and Suoh seemed to be having a hard time to process the fact all four of them were at the same table eating breakfast like some kind of non-criminal normal family of sorts.

 

They ate fast but appreciated the taste of every dish, Akihito was the first one to finish and made his way back to the kitchen to start cleaning. A ring was heard and Suoh picked his phone from his pocket, Kirishima and Asami eyed him questioningly.

 

“Just an alarm, it’s time for Natsume-kun’s meds.”

 

A blond mop of hair poked from the kitchen.

 

“I can give them to her, you finish breakfast.”

 

“T-thank you, Takaba. It’s the antibiotics, they are in her room.”

 

Akihito disappeared into the kitchen and emerged back with a tray with another portion of breakfast and a glass of water, he made his best to hide the satisfaction smile on his lips as he passed the three men and disappeared into the hall and up the stairs.

 

Just like he had done about an hour later he knocked softly and entered the room, the girl was still in the same position, deep even breaths clear evidence of her deep sleep state.

 

The photographer kneeled by her side and let the tray down, he spotted the medicine and grabbed it, taking one pill and placing it on the tray. Blue eyes stared at the sleeping girl face and a sudden feeling of relief washed over him, the dark circles under eyes were gone and her white skin got the subtle and healthy olive undertone of always.

 

“Sayuri.”

 

He reached out with his right hand and pocked her cheek with one finger, the girl stirred a little, mumbled something unintelligible, rolled over her stomach and continued snoring.

 

“Time to get up, Sayuri. Don’t be a lazy cat and wake up.”

 

Akihito continued pocking her cheeks trying to decipher what she mumbled until the girl bolted up on her knees.

 

“Kit-kat!”

 

The photographer stayed still trying to contain his laughter, Sayuri sat on her heels and looked lazily around, her eyes clouded with sleep, her brain not clearly functioning yet. When her eyes stared at his own, Akihito was greeted by a wide sleepy smile.

 

“Good morning, Akihito-san… Akihito…san… Akihito-san!”

 

Suddenly the cloudy eyes were fully alert again and shone with recognition. Akihito watched the embarrassment on her eyes which added to her nest-like hair was a very hard sight to not laugh at. The photographer released his laughter without reservations until his stomach hurt.

 

“Morning, sleepy cat. You were dreaming about chocolate?!”

 

“No, I was NOT!”

 

Akihito laughed harder when her face turned a deep shade of red. Once he finally got control back over his lungs he looked again at the girl before him, a simple white nightgown covered her body; she kept her eyes averted while she tried to tame her hair with her hands. The photographer took a couple of deep breaths to recover the ability to speak again.

 

“I brought your meds and breakfast.”

 

“T-thank you, Akihito-san. You know, you shouldn’t bother yourself with these kind of things, you should use your time to rest some more…”

 

“It’s not a bother. You spent five whole days taking care of me while neglecting your own needs, to help you now is the least I can do. Now, you must be hungry, you slept for more less twenty hours straight so take your meds and eat.”

 

“Twenty hours!”

 

“Yeah, you were out since yesterday around 2pm, now it’s the next day 10am, so yeah. Hayashi-sensei said it was to be expected since you were exhausted and also she knocked you out with painkillers so don’t stress about that. Moving on! Meds. Food. Now.”

 

He saw the young woman open her mouth to say something else but a loud deep growl made her close it immediately and avert her eyes while a deep shade of red tinted her cheeks again. She accepted the pill with the glass of water and after a quiet ‘ _Itadakimasu’_ the girl ate her breakfast with great enthusiasm.

 

Akihito stayed with her, quietly watching her, searching for any sign of discomfort or illness; he couldn’t help the small smile that appeared in his face when he found none. Finally the weight from his shoulders lifted completely, she was ok, she was alive before his eyes so he could finally believe what was told to him repeatedly. She was fine.

 

“Sooo… about that kit-kat…”

 

***

 

Akihito entered the kitchen with the tray of now empty dishes to wash them, he wasn’t surprised to see Kirishima already washing the other ones. Akihito passed him the new set and thanked him for his help.

 

The photographer joined Asami and Suoh in the living room, the bulky guard was engrossed in some documents while the crime lord studied something in a tablet. Akihito sat beside the raven man and let his mind wander into nothingness, focusing only on the man by his side, the warmth that emanated from his body, the musky scent that flooded his nostrils, the light tan on his incredibly soft skin, the even breaths that made his chest rise and fall in a constant rhythm.  At some point he registered he was leaning on Asami’s side but he didn’t care, he just wanted to feel him close and the crime lord didn’t complain either so he stayed there.

 

After an unknown amount of time for the photographer a new figure appeared in the living room, he looked up and saw a freshly showered Sayuri in casual clothes sitting in the couch across him, next to Kirishima.

 

“How are you feeling, Natsume?”

 

“I’m fine, Asami-sama. My strength is a little… down but I can work without problems.”

 

“Good. Rest for a couple more days, you and Akihito will stay here until this is settled. No one beside us and Hayashi-sensei knows you are safe with us, we will use that to our advantage so we will keep you two still missing on paper. Kirishima, Suoh and myself will continue acting like we were still searching for you, that might give us some time to sort this out. Now, let’s review what we have so all of us are informed properly, Kirishima.”

 

“Yes, Sir. Looking closely at all the events since the original threats we were able to deduce the mole is in a high rank inside of Sion, given the information they manage and the codes they used we have only three suspects left. Fisrt, Shibata Keiichi, first class ranked guard trained by Suoh, he was suspected to be the mole before until Takaba-kun proved he was framed; now we theorize he could have faked the frame to lower our suspects on him. Second, Tachibana Youko, my personal assistant and leader of the Intel team, she has access to almost every piece of information at Sion. Third, Inoue Tsugumi, Tachibana’s assistant, second lead of the Intel team, she doesn’t have full direct access but has more than average since her position with Tachibana, also she has the abilities to hack any system so she could have hacked Sion’s server without a doubt.”

 

“I don’t think its Shibata-san. He already had an interrogation with Asami-sama, nobody in their right mind would go through that willingly, even if it’s for misdirection. Akihito-san was the one who found out he was framed, there is no way Shibata-san knew that would happen.”

 

“I agree with her, Asami-sama. I know who I trained and Shibata is one of the best, not only for his abilities but for his loyalty, I trust him completely.”

 

The crime lord stared at them with intense golden eyes; both the girl and the guard stared back with determination, not a single trace of doubt in their eyes.

 

“That leaves us with Tachibana and Inoue. Kirishima, you are the one who deals with them the most. What are your thoughts?”

 

The secretary sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose.

 

“I hate to say this, Asami-sama, but between the two I think it’s more likely to be Tachibana. She has the power and knows how to be discreet, Inoue-san on the other hand is very skillful but also she tends to be clumsy and discretion is not her forte.”

 

“Maybe her clumsiness is a decoy?”

 

Kirishima nodded and his brows furrowed as he thought of any possibility, they could almost see his brain pulsing on his head. A small cough grabbed their attention and all four men looked at Sayuri.

 

“I have to disagree with that, Suoh-san. I don’t think Inoue-san is skilled enough to fake anything to that extent, that’s the reason why she is never on field work. Also, even if she is younger than Tachibana-san, she has been in the team for a longer period of time. And… if she was the mole it would mean she was the one to frame Shibata-san, I don’t think that is possible since… they have been in a… relationship… for almost a year now…”

 

Sayuri trailed off as she averted her eyes to the floor. Non-professional relationships were not allowed at Sion, it was part of the contract every employee singed as they were hired, it was a rule no one could break, relationships could lead to lack of judgment in critical times which could progress to real damage to Sion and their business. She had learn of them being together when she jumped into them in one of the rest rooms, Sayuri had promised not to say anything unless it put the job at risk to which both of them agreed.

 

“How serious are they?”

 

“Very serious, Asami-sama. Shibata-san is actually planning to propose to her…”

 

“That is not a strong enough reason, she could be using Shibata to get access to places she normally wouldn’t have.”

 

“I don’t think so, Asami-sama. I have worked in many missions with Inoue-san since she arrived at Sion three years ago, she has very good judgment and in those three years she could have done many things that could damage Sion permanently but she didn’t. If she wanted to do something she perfectly could have done it a long time ago, even without Shibata-san. I completely doubt she is a traitor, I trust her with my life.”

 

The four men stared at her, Akihito felt uncomfortable in the heavy atmosphere that filled the room, he could feel those three piercing pair of eyes drilling their objective but the girl didn’t falter, she return the stare with fire of her own. It seemed to pass years like that, time elongated and Akihito felt everything in slow motion. Finally, Asami broke the silence again.

 

“Tachibana it is, then.”

 

***

 

It was a quiet drive back to Sion, Kirishima and Suoh had barked orders on their phones as soon as they crossed the door out of the safehouse with Asami behind them, leaving a confused Akihito with Sayuri back. By the time they got into the black car everything was being taken care of, every non-essential personnel was to leave, Shibata was waiting for them at the entrance and all the guards had orders to not let Tachibana out the building.

 

As soon as the car stopped in front of their destination, Asami was already out and waking his way inside. Shibata greeted them at the door and reported Tachibana was still inside the building but they weren’t able to find her with the security cameras.

 

“To the main control room, if she hacked the cameras we should be able to regain control from there.”

 

The four men marched their way to the control room followed by a group of guards behind them, all of them had their guns still holstered but ready to fire if needed.

 

They arrived at the correct door, all unholstered their guns and Suoh opened the door drawing his gun to shooting position. The lights were off but with the one that filtered from the opened door they could see a bulge on the floor, Kirishima reached to turn the lights on and as soon as the switch was turned they confirmed the identity of the bulge.

 

A bloodied Tachibana was on the ground, making weak attempts to get on her feel as blood dripped down her head and labored breathing burned her lungs.

 

The secretary holstered back his gun and kneeled besides her, gently helping her to a sitting position.

 

“I-Inoue-san, she… she attacked me… she…”

 

A round of bloody coughs stopped her midsentence, Kirishima rubbed circles on her back to help her calm down. Asami looked at the scene before him, the woman was clearly beaten badly and the control room was a disaster zone, it was obvious a fight had taken place there. He turned to face Suoh.

 

“Find Inoue, she must not leave the building.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

All the guards moved to their new assignment following Suoh’s orders as he barked them, the crime lord turned to face Shibata, the expression on the young man’s face could only be described as completely shocked, it was obvious he couldn’t believe what he heard.

 

“Shibata, you won’t leave either. I can’t trust your judgment with this and we need to talk about this situation, depending on your answers you might keep your job or you might face the same end as your girlfriend.”

 

The guard paled even more but nodded in agreement, his head dropped and an aura of devastation emanated from his body. Asami turned to Kirishima and Tachibana again, the secretary was talking to the woman in an attempt to distract her from the pain and keep her conscious.

 

“Those are really pretty and I think I didn’t saw them before, are they new?”

 

Kirishima signaled the woman’s shoes, a pair of bright red high heels.

 

“T-they are, Sir. I-I bought them y-yesterday… they are… really comfortable…”

 

Asami took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number, he heard Kirishima ask more trivial questions to the woman until a voice answered the crime lord on the other end of the line, he explained the situation and asked for immediate attention, seconds later the phone call was over and the phone back on his pocket.

 

“Tachibana-san, Hayashi-sensei will be here shortly, until then I want you to tell me what happened.”

 

“I-I was in m-my desk when an… a-alert popped in my computer, s-since the disappearance of… Takaba-sama and Natsume-chan I-I thought it was best if… the s-security system was m-monitored so I configured… m-my computer to r-receive alerts in case it was h-hacked… an alert p-popped and I c-came here to see what h-happened… when I entered, I-Inoue-san was h-here…  s-she was… she was accessing some c-confidential files… w-when she saw me she… she attacked m-me… I can’t believe she is a traitor… I-I’m sorry I couldn’t stop her… I’m sorry…”

 

Another cough fit made her double over her stomach as more blood made its way out of her mouth; the crime lord exited the room to coordinate the search for Inoue Tsugumi himself.

 

 Sion was chaos, guards moved everywhere, cameras where checked, every door unlocked but the young woman was nowhere to be found.

 

***

 

Everything hurt; her face was swollen and could taste blood from her split lip, even if her mouth was covered by a gag. Her arms were painfully tied behind her back and one of her legs was broken. She stayed on the floor of that gray office just focusing on her breathing; if she panicked it would only made things worse.

 

Once her head was clear enough to somehow ignore the pain, she looked around to take in her surroundings, a simple office clouded by smoke, by the window, a man she had never seen smoking a Dunhill staring at the city below.

 

A new sound grabbed her attention, footsteps echoed from outside the office and soon enough the door opened to reveal the person she hated the most at the moment.

 

“Welcome back, honey.”

 

The smoking man signaled the newcomer to enter and sit in front of his desk, he exhaled a new puff of smoke and made his way next to that person and reached out his hand to stroke the woman’s cheek.

 

“Well, honey, at least that rushed plan went good, make sure to play your part nice to keep it that way or next time your punishment won’t be so… gentle.”

 

The woman nodded profusely as her body trembled uncontrollably. Black, purple and blue covered half of her face, even from her position on the floor she could see the woman’s posture was odd, mixed with her shaking body she sat in a strange angle and was obviously in pain.

 

“Now, don’t worry about our… guest. I will take care of her, you focus on your task, I want that pet boy found.”

 

“Y-yes, sir.”

 

The man turned and focused his attention on the floor, on her. She felt her heart race again as the man approached her, with emotionless piercing eyes he reached to pet her head, she glared at him with the most angry expression her terrified body allowed her. The smoking man clearly didn’t like it, suddenly his eyes showed anger and the hand that had the Dunhill went down to her neck.

 

She smelt it before she felt it. Burning flesh. Her burning flesh. She screamed at the top of her lungs at the amount of pain she registered in her neck. The man didn’t like that either, he stood and tossed the cigarette away, his eyes were full of rage.

 

A kick connected with her abdomen and she doubled in pain, the kicks kept coming and form time to time he made it a point to kick her broken leg.

 

“You are not allowed to scream bitch. I don’t want to hear you! Don’t make a sound! Never!”

 

The man kept attacking her, not only with his feet but also with his fists and even his belt. The pain was unbearable, she could feel consciousness slip away from her.

 

With blurry vision, in the corner of her eye she saw the woman standing from her seat and awkwardly walking her way out of the office while clutching her side, the last thing Inoue Tsugumi saw before darkness consumed her was a pair of shoes disappear behind a closing door, a pair of bright red high heels.

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... did you bet to the right person?


	29. To please you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She only had one purpose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> No, this is not a product of your imagination, nor an illusion of some sort. Yes, I am alive. I’m so sorry for the looooooong wait for this chapter; life has not been kind lately.
> 
> This is a different chapter, we won’t see Akihito or Asami here but I wanted so badly to write a Tachibana POV chapter that I couldn’t help myself. At first it was just going to be some paragraphs but as I kept writing I found it was too much and the chapter would have been gigantic. So, since I don’t want to cut in half the events that follows these ones I decided to leave this as a chapter and the next one will be back to Asami and Akihito. 
> 
> As I said, we won’t see Asami and Akihito here but it explains what Tachibana has done on her end and also I try to show you a little of her mind set which is a huge reason why she does what she does. If you don’t want to read it, please feel free to skip it and come back in the next one, this chapter doesn’t change the plot line but serves as an explanation to several events that had already happened.
> 
> Now, let me thank you again for your all your support, not only to this story but for the one expressed to me after what I shared with you in the last chapter, seriously, thank you so much, you are the best, love you all. Thank you.
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 29. TO PLEASE YOU.**

 

She did as she was told, with extreme care to not leave any trace the red haired woman accessed Sion’s server and erased every single data found on the Kubo incident, it was risky, she herself was inside Sion and any mistake, even the smallest one, could lead her to a certain death.

 

But it didn’t mattered.

 

She loved him and he loved her. He trusted her with such an important task that her finger flew through the keyboard of her laptop as her chest grew with pride.

 

He trusted her.

 

And she trusted him back, she acted on the belief that his master would set the distraction she needed to get her a couple of extra minutes to stay safe. And he did, Shirai’s corpse was found just as her master had intended. By the time she arrived to the control room to continue with her task everything was going just as planned.

 

As soon as Tachibana closed her laptop a loud ring signaled the entering call of her boss, Kirishima ordered her to gather the team and find “ _Takaba-sama”_.  The control room was a small chaos that she directed to make it less chaotic and keep the appearances.

 

She made sure to hide her satisfied smile as Kirishima took control of the operation with Asami following every movement on the screens while Suoh coordinated the guards according to the information that kept coming.

 

Moments later her smile disappeared, the red dots moved through the map away from the ambush zone. She needed to do something; her master needed these to turn out good so she had to make it happen.

 

With great discretion, she left the room unnoticed and went back to her office. Laptop on duty again and phone against her ear, Tachibana followed every movement of the GPS signals and informed their position to the attack teams.  

 

And then the GPS signals were gone and with them, her peace.

 

It was bad. Her master had trusted her and she failed him.

 

A mix of anxiety, fear and regret filled her body. Before she could even think about it her hands turned into fists and bumped her head repeatedly.

 

_‘Idiot’_

_‘Stupid’_

_‘Useless’_

_‘Failure’_

And as sudden as she started, she stopped. Tachibana still had a chance. She knew Sayuri, and that brainless girl acted like a robot and always did the same before a mission. Tachibana pressed the keys of her laptop and accessed Asami’s private server.

 

It was easy since it was not the first time she had done it. Opening the mail she scrolled down until she found the one she was looking for, it had Sayuri’s latest report and the plan for the stake out, the red haired woman scanned the information until her eyes came across to the key part.

 

Contingence plan: safehouse 2.

 

A new fire burned in her, she knew that location, and she still had a chance. Tachibana all but barked the destination to the teams on the field, she heard the reports, the fight and the failure, and when it seemed there was no other option she made the decision.

 

“Blow the house, if you cannot capture the pet I want them death.”

 

Time seemed to slow down and the woman felt as if her mind and her body were not in synchrony, she heard a loud roar on the other end of the line but her body didn’t react in any way, she didn’t breath, her heart seemed to stop until her team reported back.

 

They failed; Sayuri and the pet boy had managed to escape.

 

Tachibana felt her heart race so fast it was almost painful, she could hear the sound of her blood rushing through her veins, yet her lungs seemed to take smaller breaths each second.

 

_‘I failed, master will not be pleased, I failed you master.’_

A stinging pain on her head brought her out of her thoughts, she realized the pain was made by herself, her right hand had a fistful of hair and pulled it roughly while she chewed nervously on her left hand’s nails. She gave a final pull to her hair, pain grounding her out of her tortuous mind.

 

There should be something she could do, there should be something that could help her to please her master.

 

_‘They are together, Sayuri won’t go to any other safehouse known by Sion. Her house. There must be information on her house that leads me to their next location.”_

 

Tachibana searched for her phone, she found it on the floor a couple of meters away from her. With shaking fingers she dialed to the team leader and informed him of their new mission.

 

The wait was exasperating, the team reported an empty apartment with traces of blood but no photographer, a sudden rage took control of her senses, she ordered the search of every millimeter, heard the furniture being turned and the apartment trashed but in the end the result was what she feared the most.

 

Nothing.

 

She disconnected the call as the same time a guttural scream left her throat and her phone was smashed against the wall.

 

_‘I failed. I’m completely useless, Master trusted me and I couldn’t do it right. Master will be disappointed.’_

 

 And he showed her how disappointed he was.

 

***

 

The next couple of days passed by with a murderous Asami watching everything closely, every failure or suspicion of treason lead to torture and death. But that didn’t stopped her, her master had great expectations for her and she needed to prove him she was suitable for all his praises. Tachibana needed to find Akihito and not even the fear of a tortuous death in the hands of the great Asami Ryuichi would make her fail.

 

Those two days were rushed and uncomfortable for her, all the usual business and work of her normal day to day had to be done while at the same time she pretended to help search for the photographer on Asami’s behalf.

 

Daylight was filled with stress and paranoia while the nights welcomed her with even more work for her master and the few hours she got to sleep where filled with nightmares.

 

Her master had been severe in the last punishment and the fear for the enraged man plagued her dreams.

 

But his anger was understandable, she knew she deserved the punishment because of the failure in such an important subject so she took it without complains and sported all the bruises and brand new scars with resignation and shame.

 

She only had one lead so far and it angered her that it was not something she found out, it was her assistant, Inoue, who managed to trace Akihito’s location to south Shinjuku.  Tachibana needed to work fast, Asami had that information and was acting upon it, she had to be faster, smarter, she had to locate the boy toy before anyone else.

 

And she did.

 

Great success was always accompanied by great risk, she knew it was dangerous but her master was worth it. Her fingers flew on the keyboard of her computer, her eyes scanned every bit of information, her brain processed every single data and searched for possibilities. Sayuri’s server was not an easy one to hack, not in vain almost the entirety of the Kirishima-authorized Intel personnel were working on it.

 

But she was better and she knew it. Her master had trained her well.

 

The process was starting to show, the only thing that slowed her down was the need of covering her tracks, there should be no trace left that indicated that someone had cracked the server.

 

Tachibana almost cheered out loud when she was finally in.

 

With great discretion she took note of the location of the safehouse in south Shinjuku and texted the address to the leader of the attack team, then she double checked every trace was erased and exited the server.

 

Seconds later she was glued to her phone, the woman had direct communication with the team leader and she refused to wait for the outcome, she made it clear, hr orders were to be followed and the photographer had to be retrieved alive.

 

Gunshots, shouts and curses reached her ears as the attack team tried to capture the photographer but they had an obstacle in their way, the leader reported how his men were been taken down one by one. At some point the report of an explosion came her way and moments later the final report came in.

 

The boy toy escaped.

 

Again.

 

“Clean house, I don’t want loose screws. Wounded men who might slow down the process are disposable; I don’t want anyone who could speak to Asami alive.”

 

Her last instruction was said in an almost inaudible whisper but the cold “Yes, Madam” that answered her was proof it was heard.

 

The battered women disconnected the call and with trembling fingers speed dialed the man she loved the most.

 

“M-master… I’m sorry… I… I… failed you again…”

 

***

 

The stress was killing her; she needed to find the photographer for her master, her body was sore and a new set of bruises painted her skin under her clothes, a headache threatened to make her head explode and the lack of sleep started to show.

 

But the master needed her.

 

The last attempt was a failure and the punishment received from it was still fresh in her memory, the master was so disappointed, the woman knew she was a failure and deserved an even worse punishment but her master was good and comprehensive, he went light on her, gave her another chance.

 

“Be a good girl for me.”

 

His words resounded in her head every second.

 

She was going to be good for her master. She was going to find the lost boy toy.

 

But it wasn’t easy, Asami had doubled his efforts to find him and to side track the team away from her and at the same time try to locate the boy became harder and harder every hour that passed by.

 

A knock in the door brought her back to reality, after a quiet “come in” Kirishima entered her office with a serious look in his face. The secretary stood in front of her desk and stared at her with piercing eyes.

 

“Tachibana, follow me.”

 

The woman stood and followed Kirishima through the hall and into the elevator, the air felt heavy and quickly she could feel the tension in her body. Once in the correct floor the stoic secretary lead the way to a room, he opened the door and Tachibana felt her blood run cold.

 

It was an interrogatory room.

 

Tachibana took a deep breath and walked with a firm pace to the seat Kirishima signaled her, the woman made her best to keep a serious confident face but in reality she was panicking, was she been sloppy? Did Kirishima figured out she was the one behind the latest events? Was Asami going to enter through the door and torture her to death?

 

Her brain raced with the possibilities, her blood rushed through her veins and her heart skipped some beats.

 

The stoic man sat in front of her, the only thing separating them was a metal table. He stared at her for a couple of minutes in complete silence, when she thought she was going crazy with the pressure the secretary finally spoke.

 

“Tachibana, you are one of the few people who could be able to cause all the damage Sion has been through in the last couple of months. You are good at what you do and that is a good thing for us, but it also could be problematic if you happened to choose to betray Asami-sama.”

 

The woman opened hr mouth to say something but closed it immediately; Kirishima took it as an opportunity to continue.

 

“You are dismissed for the rest of the day; I will go through your laptop and phone personally, the computer is already in my power so the only thing left is for you to hand me your phone.”

 

She knew there was no other option, Tachibana fished her phone from her pocket and handed it to the stoic man across her.

 

“Do you happen to know anything about Takaba-sama or Natsume-san?”

 

“N-no, Kirishima-san. I only know what I have already reported to you.”

 

“Do you know anything about the murder of Shirai? Or the setting of the trap? Or how they could have accessed our server to track Takaba-sama and Natsume-san’s location? And the safehouse? And Natsume’s address? Only someone with YOUR authorization level could have done it leaving no trace behind.”

 

“No, Sir. I have no idea how they entered the system but it was not me. I-I… could check the codes and the security to see if I can find the backdoor they used but… but… I swear Sir, it was not me. I am loyal to Asami-sama and Sion.”

 

“Treason is a heavy thing, Tachibana. Anything I find that looks slightly like you did something you shouldn’t and it won’t be me who speaks to you next time.”

 

“I understand, Sir.”

 

“Go home and I want you tomorrow checking those codes, I want the report in my desk by noon. That is, if you are cleared. Don’t even think about leaving the city, we will know every move you make.”

 

With that the secretary stood and left the room leaving a shocked Tachibana behind, the woman took a couple of minutes to recover her breath and calm her heart, then she left the room and then the building.

 

She needed to contact her master.

 

Tachibana rove back to her apartment completely aware of the black car that tailed her all the way, once home she searched in the hidden door at the back of her closet and took out a phone. The woman knew she couldn’t speak freely since there was a chance her apartment was bugged so she went to the bathroom and opened the faucet and let the shower run.

 

With trembling fingers she speed dialed the only number in the phone.

 

“I hope it’s important, honey.”

 

Tachibana took a deep breath and ignoring the cold ice tone of her master she answered in a low whisper.”

 

“Master… We are in trouble. They are suspecting, Kirishima questioned me today and is checking my computer and my phone as we speak. They send me home for the day but I’m being followed and probably my apartment is bugged so I can’t move until tomorrow.”

 

“Is your laptop and phone clean?”

 

“Yes, Sir. I made sure to leave no trace in the computer and the only useful things in my phone are hidden and encrypted.”

 

“Good. Stay put for the day. Act like the perfect normal boring woman, go out to eat and maybe even do some shopping, but I want the boy toy tomorrow, if he is not in front of me before tomorrow midnight you will join Midoriya’s wife.”

 

“Understood, Sir.”

 

The call disconnected and Tachibana was left feeling scared and desperate. The next day promised to be the worst of her life.

 

***

 

The next morning she arrived at Sion early and found no one there, no Kirishima, no Suoh and no Asami. She was lucky, she could use that to her advantage, Kirishima would not receive the report he asked, she was going to use all the time she could to find the photographer and if things worked nicely it would be her last day at Sion.

 

She made her way to her office, her brand new red heels echoing through the halls of Sion. Her laptop was in its place and her phone beside it, as soon as she sat in her desk she started working, the woman spent hours showering in data, codes and numbers but by noon she had the same as when she started. Nothing.

 

And there was still no sign of Asami and his men. Or anyone for that matter, since the incident of the south Shinjuku safehouse only essential personnel and specially authorized people were allowed in the building. She took the solitude as a sign to keep working and take some more risks, she didn’t care about the danger, her master was worth it.

 

She worked a couple more hours nonstop with the same results until she finally decided to go all the way for it.

 

Her fingers pressed some keys, little screens popped in her computer and commands were done, soon enough she had all the security cameras of the building showing footage of the day before, the real live footage could only be seen in her phone.  No one would see her but she could see everyone.

 

Tachibana made her way to the control room with complete calm and confidence; the control room should be empty, the floor the room was at was off limits for most of the remaining personnel so the chance someone went there were almost zero and with her skills and the main system to work only for her it was impossible not to find what she was searching.

 

To access the system proved to be difficult having no assistance but after almost an hour she was in, Tachibana searched through the files and accessed Natsume’s private server again while at the same time ran a search in the main system for any useful information on Takaba.

 

Documents and various types of information started to pop in the different screens of the room, her eyes lit up at the prospect of victory.

 

Until the door opening behind her made her heart skip a beat.

 

Tachibana turned as quickly as she could only to find a wide eyed Inoue staring at the screens.

 

“W-what are you doing, Tachibana-san? Are those… Takaba-sama’s personal files? And… Sayuri-chan’s server?!”

 

“It’s a confidential work for Asami-sama, what are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here, the control room is off limits today.”

 

“I-I… installed an alarm in my server, it informed me the cameras were disabled and then another alarm said the main system was compromised… you… you accessed the server unauthorized, you are not working for Asami-sama…”

 

Inoue started to back away, her eyes never left the red haired woman.

 

“Inoue… you shouldn’t have come here…”

 

The young woman darted back to the door but was tackled to the floor before her hand could reach the knob. Tachibana dragged her by her feet to the center of the control room but a kick to the face made her release the girl.

 

The red haired woman grabbed a chair and threw it to the girl, then she launched herself again against the young one. She couldn’t let Inoue go, Inoue could ruin everything if she escaped, no, Tachibana needed to stop her, no matter the cost.

 

Her bruises and soreness were forgotten, the only thing that mattered was to stop Inoue, she couldn’t fail the master again.

 

It only took a couple of minutes, the master had trained her well, she was not at the level of a Sion bodyguard but her abilities were more than enough to neutralize the young girl. She grabbed another chair and hit Inoue repeatedly in her back, the young girl covered her head with her arms and kicked in an attempt to make the other woman to back away, Tachibana tried again and when Inoue’s leg trapped the chair she twisted it, hard.

 

The cracking sound was followed by a wail as Inoue curled into herself and grabbed her broken leg. But it didn’t last long, Tachibana grabbed the chair again and smashed it against the girl’s head, successfully knocking her out.

 

The woman tried to catch her breath while she looked around, the control room was a mess, despite her small frame Inoue had put on quite a fight.

 

Tachibana fished her phone and speed dialed the master again. He was not going to be happy.

 

“Now what, honey.”

 

“I’m sorry, Sir. I was going through the main system in the control room but Inoue came in and catch me, she is now unconscious. Which are your orders?”

 

“Meet me in the back alley in five minutes; drag the little bitch there with you. Make sure no one sees you.”

 

The call disconnected and Tachibana started to move, Inoue was small so it was not very heavy but she couldn’t drag her, to do that would leave marks and blood in the carpet that Asami could suspect of later, so she had to carry her, and with her sore body, Tachibana struggled all the way.

 

Using her phone to check on the guards, Tachibana slowly made her way to the back alley unnoticed. The master was already there with a black car.

 

Without ceremony, the gray eyed man grabbed the limp Inoue and threw her to the trunk of the car.

 

“You had ONE job. And you managed to ruin it.”

 

“I-I’m sorry, master. I will accept any punishment you see fit…”

 

“Of course you will.”

 

The beating was vicious and cruel, by the time the master was done, Tachibana was whimpering on the ground coughing blood; black, red and purple started to cover her skin.

 

“Get up, scum. I’m not done with you.”

 

With great effort, the woman managed to stand, her wobbling legs threatened to fail but somehow she found the strength to stay up, her eyes glued to the floor, fear running through her veins.

 

“Honey, honey, honey… I have done so much for you these years, and you pay me back with failure every single time. I expected much more from you, but you disappoint me. No, no, don’t cry! Stay quiet! You are not allowed to make a sound!”

 

Tachibana bit her lip to stop any sound from leaving her throat, she knew better than that. The master liked quiet, the master liked silence. Then she felt a cold hand against her cheek and she couldn’t help the violent tremors that shook her body. She was terrified.

 

“Hush now, honey. I will show you how much of a good man I am, I will give another chance, the last one. You will go back unnoticed and make Asami believe that bitch is the mole, that she attacked you and then left. I don’t care how you do that, just do it. I will take care of the rat. Come to me as soon as you can.”

 

Tachibana nodded vigorously, her master gave her another chance, her master was truly a merciful man. She limped her way back to the backdoor and when she was crossing it the master spoke again, his voice cold and severe.

 

“Don’t dare to fail this time.”

 

She gulped but kept going, the way back to the control room proved to be worse than before, with her body in such condition it was a miracle she managed to move undetected and also leave no blood or any trace behind.

 

The control room was a mess but she knew it would not justify her injuries, gathering as much strength as she could, Tachibana raised the same chair she knocked Inoue out with and smashed it against the controls, the screen and everything at sight, she didn’t stop her coughing fits and purposely left her blood in different parts of the room and furniture.

 

By the time she was done the control room looked like a war zone, now her injuries could be justified with a huge fight that she lost.

 

A beep in her phone indicated her that her time was up, she saw in the screen the live footage of Asami, Kirishima, Suoh and Shibata in the elevator, a group of guards made their way through the stairs. The woman smashed her phone until it broke and when that final task was done all the adrenaline left her body, her lungs started to burn from the strain and her legs gave up, she collapsed to floor too tired to even try to move.

 

The next minutes passed in a blur, the men entered the room, Kirishima kneeled beside her and she told her made up story, guards rushed all over the building trying to find a girl who was actually in the trunk of a car somewhere in Tokyo.  

 

She was transported to the hospital where Hayashi-sensei checked her, Tachibana stayed there for a couple of hours until she convinced the doctor she was well enough to go home and rest there the rest of the week to recover.

 

***

 

Tachibana showered in the praise her master gave her, it was short but it was there none the less. The master was pleased; she had made the master happy. Her heart was filled with joy even when it raced and her body trembled as the master stroke her cheek.

 

She refused to look at the woman in the floor, no, she focused on her master; he was the only one that deserved attention.

 

The master then turned his attention to the woman on the floor, Tachibana heard the sound of the cigarette burning flesh, her scream and then her master’s wise advice. He was such a good man, advising the undeserving girl so she could suffer less.

 

But she didn’t stay to watch it, with pain and great difficulty she stood and awkwardly walked her way to the door, leaving behind a wounded Inoue with the master.

 

She didn’t went far, just to her office in the room next to his master’s. She could still the man’s yells educating Inoue.

 

Tachibana stared through the window, she watched how the people in the street walked by, she lost track of time until her master’s voice brought her back to reality.

 

“You did a good job this time, honey.”

 

She smiled, the master was happy and smiling at her. The master was proud.

 

“Now, you will continue to search for the boy. I want him, as soon as possible.”

 

“Of course, master.”

 

“Also, you will have to keep the attention off you, direct all of Asami’s suspicions to our guest, which will give us more time. And… send the gift, that will shake him up a little, we could take advantage of that.”

 

 “But… but Sir, we could lose a powerful ally… I don’ think that is something we can afford right now…”

 

“You are not here to think! You do as I say! If I say quiet, you shut up; if I say kill, you blow someone’s head and if I say you die, you bite a cyanide pill and die. Got it?”

 

The woman shivered the cold intense look in the gray eyes that stared at her with rage pierced through her soul.

 

“Y-yes, master.”

 

“Good girl. Now, do what I asked you, I want the gift to be delivered tomorrow.”

 

The master left and Tachibana stayed in her place for a couple of minutes, she needed a new plan for her new orders.  Soon enough a smile touched her lips, the master had gave her another chance, the master had praised her.

 

Tachibana stood with renovated strength and walked out of the office with a new task but the mission was still the same, she only had one purpose in her life.

 

 _‘To please you, master’_.

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any thoughts?


	30. Operation Kojiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki makes an important decision while Asami continues his search for Inoue and the hat man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> I’m back! Yay! I’m so sorry for the long delay, again. To be honest with you, I haven’t felt my best and have been a complete mess these past months. Life sucks sometimes. Anyway, I’m back and feeling better so let’s hope my crazy brain decides to stay that way for a change. 
> 
> On another note, you might have noticed that my user name changed, that, my lovely readers, is because I’m such an idiot sometimes, like when I picked the username the first time and misspelled it and stayed for more than a year believing it was the correct word. Imagine my surprise when I found I have been wrong this whole time… yeah… not happening again. So… I corrected it and now is all good! Yay! 
> 
> Now, regarding the story, we are back with Aki and Asami, the game takes a new path with each of them making decisions of their own. Hope you like it.
> 
> Once again let me thank you for your continuous support, every single comment, kudos, thought, makes my day, thank you so much, you are amazing. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 30. OPERATION KOJIRO.**

 

He was dying, he could see the slow and painful death waiting for him. The young man tried to busy his mind with anything he could find but every second seemed to be longer than the last one and the struggle to keep his mind became harder and harder. He was dying.

 

Of boredom.

 

Akihito cleaned the kitchen for the fifth time in two hours, not that it was dirty to begin with, but the photographer had started to do cleaning rallies all over the safehouse since he had nothing more to do.

 

The continuous rattle of the pots finally came to an end and after a quick glance to the squeaky clean surfaces Akihito left the kitchen and made his way to the living room.

 

The first thing he noticed was the young woman sitting cross legged on the couch in the same spot he saw her, a couple of hours before, still engrossed on the book in her hands. The second thing he noticed was the spotless nature of the room. Deciding it was spotless-clean but not squeaky-clean; the photographer grabbed a cloth and picked a target to begin with.

 

“I swear I haven’t touched anything since the first time you cleaned the room, so I’m pretty sure everything must be perfectly clean, just as you left it a couple of hours ago, Akihito-san.”

 

“I know, but cleaning is the only thing I can do to prevent death by boredom.”

 

“Asami-sama brought a console and videogames for you.”

 

“I already finished them. All of them.”

 

He heard a soft dry sound that indicated Sayuri had closed her book; Akihito could feel her eyes staring at him, analyzing him, trying to decipher what was on his mind while he pretended to clean the coffee table.

 

“Do you want to train some more? It will help you blow some steam… and keep your head out of whatever thoughts are haunting you.”

 

  Akihito lowered his head slightly; she had looked right through him. He was bored to death, yes, but he also needed something to do in an attempt to keep his mind at bay. Every time he stayed still his brain started to wander through places he didn’t want to explore.

 

Sayuri vowing to protect him even at the cost of her own life, the danger that seemed to follow them, the explosion of the past safehouse, the mole inside Sion that could potentially have Asami killed, Hattie.

 

The photographs he received via email of Asami in bed with someone else.

 

Where they escorts?, High-end specialized sex workers?, One night stands?, Romantic interests?, Previous lovers?

 

What was he? 

 

A lover?, A partner?, A romantic interest?

 

A good fuck worth keeping for more than one night?

 

A simple bed warmer?

 

Akihito shook his head to silence his thoughts again, he put the cloth down and turned to face the young woman with a forced smile on his face.

 

“Yeah, more training would be good.  But, you are injured, you should rest so… maybe is not a good idea. I don’t want Hayashi-sensei to be mad at you for not taking care of yourself…again.”

 

“Hayashi-sensei cleared me to increase the amount of exercise this morning and I can still train you even if I’m not doing much myself. We will not spar but we can use the opportunity to improve your technique and posture.”

 

Ten minutes later, both of them reunited again in the living room dressed with workout clothes and a bottle of water in their hands, moved the furniture out of the way and started working. Half way through the workout Sayuri started doing cool down stretches while instructing Akihito on his own exercises.

 

The four days they had been in the safehouse they had an hour long training session in the mornings, the first thirty minutes they worked together, the second half it was only Akihito working out since Sayuri wasn’t cleared for more exercise yet, but even if the young guard was injured she kept her Spartan methods. By the time the hour was over, an exhausted photographer was left breathless and unable to move a finger.

 

And he was thankful for that.

 

The intensity of the workout left him with no option but to focus on what he was doing and even when it was over, he was so tired to even try to think on anything. He ended exhausted and sore, yes, but also with his mind at ease.

 

As promised, after strength and resistance, Sayuri made him practice punches, kicks, combinations, everything she had taught him and pointed the corrections if needed. Akihito focused completely on the task and made his best to improve. He felt the burn of his muscles, the sweat dripping over his skin, the heat of his body, and he kept pushing.

 

He didn’t notice the amount of time that passed, he didn’t care, the only thing he wanted was to stay out of his own head.

 

Finally, Sayuri called it a day and he left to take a shower, only then did he look at the watch on the wall to find out two hours had passed. Double of time than usual, but he didn’t care.

 

 A smile found its way to his lips, he was glad his thoughts were quiet for a while.

 

***

 

Sion was on total lockdown, only essential personnel were allowed in the building and even they had to go through an extensive security check. Asami wasn’t leaving anything out of his sight.

 

Four days had gone by since Akihito and Sayuri appeared at his office, in order to keep them safe he made sure both of them stayed missing on paper, only Kirishima, Suoh, Hayashi-sensei and Asami himself knew their location. He even went as far as letting part of the Inter team to keep the search in the assumption that they were yet to be found.

 

With his people working on a search he knew was pointless, the crime lord focused his efforts in the search for Inoue Tsugumi, the traitor, the mole. But even after three days of continuous search, the woman was nowhere to be found, it was like she vanished leaving no trail behind.

 

The security cameras threw nothing useful, the only lead they had was a shot from an ATM camera that showed a black car entering the alley behind the building and then leaving some minutes later, Kirishima was able to catch the plate number but turned out it was fake, they couldn’t trace it nor associate it with someone.

 

After three days they had a beaten up assistant, a completely destroyed control room, a mole on the run and an untraceable black car.

 

His best chance at that point was Shibata; the guard had passed those three days with continuous interrogations, dissecting every conversation he could recall in an attempt to figure out where Inoue could be, where she could hide, why she betrayed them.

 

Asami stared with fierce golden eyes at the man before him, the poor guard looked broken, big black circles under his eyes gave away the fact that he hadn’t been able to sleep properly, his posture indicated tiredness and disbelief, his sight was empty and heartbroken.

 

Deciding it was enough for the day and that it was best if the man was granted some rest, Asami left the interrogation room and made his way to his office.

 

A clear _‘ding’_ came from his pocket while on the elevator; the crime lord fished his phone and checked the email he just had received.

 

 By the time he reached his office, his phone was shattered, left behind in the floor of the elevator, a deadly aura surrounded the raven man.

 

Sion was on total lockdown but the few employees there noticed right away, Sion was hell.

 

***

 

A thick cloud of gray smoke filled the office; the characteristic smell of Dunhill flooded the closed room while the man beside the window expelled another cloud into the air. Behind him, a red haired woman in high heels and covered in bruises poured him a tumbler of whiskey.

 

The woman left the drink in the desk and took a couple of steps back as her master turned to grab the glass, without even looking at her.

 

“Is it done, honey?”

 

“Yes, Sir. The gift was sent and the rest of the preparations are in place.”

 

The man took a sip of his drink; he spent some seconds to admire the quality of the color of the beverage as a smirk formed in his face. He took another sip.

 

“Good, now we only have to wait for the panther to bite the bait.”

 

***

 

He was dying… again.

 

Thanks to the intense workout Sayuri had put him through the day before he had been able to last the rest of the day focusing on his sore muscles instead of on the haunting thoughts surrounding his actual situation, when night came he found himself slipping with ease into a dreamless slumber only to be woken by a very lusty Asami.

 

They blew even more steam with their nightly activities, Akihito noticed that somehow the crime lord seemed different but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why or how, the raven man was merciless in his ministrations, handled the photographer’s body harshly, left marks in different places of his body where they could not be hidden so easily, but what Akihito found more intriguing was the way those golden orbs stared at him, piercing through his very soul, silently screaming only one thing:

 

_‘You are mine.’_

 

Akihito could feel the possessiveness of the other man but couldn’t make his brain grasp what was going on, the pleasure was so overwhelming that by the end of the third round the young blond couldn’t even form straight thoughts.

 

By the time Asami decided it was enough and time to sleep, it was already early morning and the photographer was so exhausted he fell into a peaceful deep sleep, curled into the chest of the man who was the source of his insecurities but was also the man he loved.

 

Morning came and Akihito found himself in an empty bed, with a sore body and once again, with a crowded loud mind.

 

Breakfast was made, an hour long workout session with Sayuri helped for a while, then he found himself again in a cleaning rally until Hayashi-sensei arrived.

 

Since their arrival to that safehouse, Hayashi-sensei had come every day to check on them. The doctor initiated her visit checking on Sayuri and her stab wound, then she would go to Akihito and look over his cuts and bruises while updating him in the young guard’s condition and some random news of the outside world.

 

It had been five days since their arrival and his bruises, except for the large black ones, were fading fast and represented no problems to his daily routine, he knew it was unnecessary for a doctor to check on them every single day. But he also knew the reason Hayashi-sensei kept doing it was to distract him and again, the photographer was thankful for those surrounding him for being so thoughtful towards him.

 

The doctor came, made her usual check and started to ramble about some entitled idol that ended up in her practice the day before. The chat was short and lightweight but Akihito smiled and even laughed wholeheartedly with the woman.

 

And then she was gone and he was left alone with his thoughts again.

 

“Akihito-san, please, don’t forget our promise. We help each other. I notice something is bothering you, you don’t have to tell what it is if you don’t want to but please, remember I’m here to help you.”

 

Akihito gave a little smile to the girl on the couch, but even he knew it looked forced.

 

“I’m fine, Sayuri.”

 

The young guard stared at him again with those eyes he learned to fear, those eyes that analyzed every single inch of his soul and were able to pinpoint exactly what was on his mind.”

 

“Please, don’t lie to me.”

 

The photographer averted his sight and made his best effort to calm his racing heart. Obviously she had seen right through him, if he wanted her to stop asking he would have to make something up.

 

“I’m just… restless, after everything that has happened… I’m scared. I worry Asami will get hurt or that they will find us again…”

 

Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie, but he knew that wasn’t the main source of his mixed emotions. Sayuri, however, looked at him again with a sharp glare and then relaxed, seemingly accepting Akihito’s answer; the girl offered a warm small smile and a quick hug.

 

“Akihito-san… I would like to ask for your help…”

 

The blond arched an eyebrow when the young guard left the room only to return a couple of minutes later with two laptops in her hands.”

 

“Suoh-san brought them earlier when you were with Hayashi-sensei, I requested them. You and I know that neither of us are the kind of people to just sit and wait when there is a problem, so I thought you might want to help.”

 

Akihito’s eyes sparked with renovated life at the prospect of action, of being somehow useful in their situation.

 

“How can I help you?”

 

“I… I don’t think Inoue-san is the mole. I was serious when I told Asami-sama that I trust Inoue-san with my life, I have treated with her not only on the job but also we get along in our private lives, and I don’t believe she could ever be a traitor.

 

I would like to ask for your help. Please, Akihito-san, help me find proof that Inoue-san is innocent.”

 

 Akihito stared into her eyes with shock, usually her sight was filled with confidence and determination, what Akihito was looking at was desperation, vulnerability and sorrow.

 

It was a look he didn’t want to see again.

 

With his own blue eyes burning in determination he took one laptop from the girl’s hands and brightened the room with a warm confident smile.

 

“Let’s get started.”

 

***

 

Asami released the last smoke of his fifth Dunhill of the morning in the air, a new clear _‘ding’_ indicated the arrival of a new email but the crime lord did nothing but glared at the screen of his computer, he was not going to open it, he already knew what it was.

 

He had been receiving those emails once every couple of hours since the day before, all of them had the same content, a single photograph.

 

A photograph that had him wanting to murder someone.

 

The crime lord wanted answers and knew he needed to talk to Akihito to get them, he had the intention to solve that issue the night before when he arrived to the safehouse but as soon as he shook the young man awake and those blue sleepy eyes looked at him the image of the photograph popped in his mind and instead of a civilized conversation he let his instincts drive him.

 

He marked the boy as his.

 

Asami made sure to give him overwhelming pleasure so the photographer’s brain could only think of him, he left behind marks that would tell the world the blond was taken, he handled the silky body harshly but at the same time careful to not hurt him, to let the boy know who he belonged to.

 

He would talk to him that night, he wanted answers but he also recognized the blond had the right to explain himself, and Asami was going to let him. What the crime lord would do after that depended on the blonde’s answers.

 

The raven picked another Dunhill and reached for his lighter when his office door opened revealing a frantic Kirishima.

 

“Sir. One of our men reports they witnessed a woman being dragged into a warehouse in Tokyo bay some minutes ago.”

 

“And? Why would I care for a kidnapped woman?”

 

“She matches Kojiro’s wife description.”

 

Golden eyes focused on his secretary’s expression and both men nodded in silent agreement. Asami stood from his chair and followed Kirishima out of the office.

 

They had work to do.

 

An hour later everything was in place, the plan was reviewed, the different teams were formed and ready to go, and Kirishima, Suoh and Asami were geared up to enter the action in the front lines.

 

The team arrived at the warehouse in the expected time and as soon as everyone was in position, Asami gave the order.

 

“Initiate Operation Kojiro.”

 

 A team of guards surrounded the small warehouse and blew the door open, between the smoke and confusion Asami followed by Suoh, Kirishima and team neko (without Sayuri and Shibata) entered the warehouse and started to shot every enemy that could be seen.

 

In a matter of seconds the whole place was a small war zone. But since Asami had the element of surprise, he had the upper hand.

 

Soon enough his team was able to access the underground level where they found little to no security while they could still hear the fight taking place a level above. They continued moving through the only hall, opening the few doors that they encountered but all of them were empty.

 

Except for the one at the end of the hall.

 

With precaution and expecting a trap the team opened the door ready to fire but froze at the sight that greeted them.

 

A woman was tied to a chair, blood matted her brown hair and tears cascaded down her dirty cheeks. As soon as the first man entered the room, the woman stared at him with terrified and empty pleading grey eyes, her beautiful face marked with scars and cuts.

 

As soon as Asami saw her, he knew who she was. Midoriya Kyoko, Kojiro’s wife.

 

But that was not what demanded his full attention. It was the man standing behind the restrained woman, fully dressed in black clothes, a black mask covered his face while a black hat created a shadow that concealed furthermore his face.

 

The hat man.

 

And with a gun pointing right at the back of the woman’s head.

 

“Well, I didn’t expect to find you here. You are surrounded, there are only two ways you will leave this warehouse and only one option has a functioning heart on it. Let Midoriya-san go.”

 

The hat man tilted his head to one side but said nothing, he stared at Asami’s gun aimed at him, then his own gun pressing to the head of the crying woman, then to Asami again.

 

And the hat man pulled the trigger.

 

Asami saw the scene in slow motion, the long deliberated movement of the finger to pull the trigger, the loud bang than resonated in the small room, the spray of red that coated the hat man’s hand and gun, the violent hang of the woman’s head, the light that left the eyes of Midoriya Kyoko’s eyes forever.

 

And Asami pulled the trigger.

 

The bullet hit the hat man in his shoulder, not a fatal wound but enough to reduce him. The crime lord was going to enjoy torturing this one. The hat man dropped to the floor with a pained groan and seconds later Asami was hovering over him with his gun aimed at his head.

 

“Time is up.”

 

The hat man stayed silence, instead, Asami heard a cracking sound that he immediately recognized and the scene unfolding before him confirmed his suspicions.

 

The man on the floor left a series of ragged breaths leave his throat and seconds later his body started to convulse.

 

Cyanide, again.

 

Before anyone could do something, the hat man ceased to move, and Asami knew he had also cease to live.

  

***

 

His office was once again filled with a cloud of grey smoke, his door opened and after a few coughs Kirishima made his way to open the window in an attempt to ventilate the room.

 

“Asami-sama, we haven’t been able to identify the hat man yet. Also, Midoriya Kyoko’s body was cremated and buried with her husband.”

 

“And the girl?”

 

“Still no sign of Midoriya’s daughter, Sir. It looks like it was the first time they used that warehouse and we haven’t been able to trace where they came from.”

 

“Keep searching, I want her to be found alive. At least she must survive.”

 

The secretary nodded in agreement and left his boss again to his own thoughts.

 

It didn’t matter how hard Asami tried to make sense of everything he couldn’t shake a feeling of uneasiness that clawed at his skin. There was something wrong, very wrong.

 

“We spent weeks searching and found absolutely nothing, then the apper out of nowhere… No, something is wrong.”

 

He took another drag from his cigarette and released the smoke against his reflection on the window.

 

“It was too easy.”

 

The crime lord gave another smoke to his cigarette and as he kept staring at the city below his window a known and clear _‘ding’_ sounded from his laptop and pulled his attention again to _that_ matter.

 

 _That_ photograph again.

 

Putting his Dunhill on the ash tray, Asami decided to have Kirishima trace that emails, but not before he had the talk he needed with Akihito, he needed to hear it from the blond first.

 

The crime lord, against his best knowledge, opened the email and stared at the photograph. Immeasurable anger filled his system mixed with disgust and absolute wrath.

 

Yes, he would hear Akihito’s explanation, but first he was going to pay a visit to someone else.   

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!  
> Now, I’m such an asocial person that social media is absolutely not my thing, but a few days ago I thought: “Girl, you cannot stay in the dark ages like a forest troll forever.” So, I opened up a Twitter account. I’m still trying to figure out how the hell does that works. I’m the most boring person in this planet but feel free to stop by and say hi if you want to. You can find me at @Akambarhu


	31. Photograph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami decides to take the bull from its horns and face the photograph situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> I’m back! Yay! I was hit by an unexpected and completely awful wave of writer’s block so I decided the best was to wait it off, real life is still being weird, I’m a complete mess and I didn’t want to force myself to write something because we are getting closer to another key part for this story and I really don’t want to mess it up. It’s a part that was on my head from the very beginning and I’m so excited about it I can stop smiling at the fact we are this close.
> 
> Ok, enough of me jumping in excitement. I hope you are up for an Asami time because we are about to follow Asami around for 95% of this chapter, so prepare yourself for crime lord duties. Hope you like it.
> 
> Once again let me thank you for your continuous support, every single comment, kudos, thought, makes my day, thank you so much, you are amazing. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 31. PHOTOGRAPH.**

He closed his laptop with a dry sound while releasing the last smoke of his Dunhill, his mind racing on all the possible scenarios that awaited him where he was going next.

 

A light knock at his door pulled his attention away from his thoughts, with his characteristic baritone voice he signaled the other person to enter and seconds later Kirishima was standing in front of him with a tablet on his hands.

 

“Sir, we identified the hat man.”

 

Asami arched an eyebrow and stared at his secretary, silently urging him to continue. Kirishima passed the tablet to his boss and the crime lord stared at the pictures showed on it.

 

“Minegishi Masanori, leader of the Minegishi-gumi.”

 

The crime lord stared at the photo of the man; sharp brown eyes clouded by power stared back at him. Those were re eyes of a man who had seen too many battles but also a man who wasn’t afraid of them.

 

“Kirishima, coordinate the total shut down of the Minegishi-gumi. I want every single member, even the helpers and informants, dead as soon as possible.”

 

“Sir… the whole group is nowhere to be found, I have the whole city under surveillance and have a small team checking all ports, airports, train stations and roads but it’s like all of them vanished, no sign of any member since two weeks ago.”

 

Asami pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache was forming but the crime lord pushed it aside.

 

“Keep searching, I want them gone as soon as possible.”

 

Kirishima nodded and left the office to fulfill his task. Asami took another long smoke to his Dunhill as he turned to the window and gave the city below a final look. He released the smoke and put the cigarette on the ash tray, grabbed his coat and left the office.

 

He still needed to pay someone a visit.

 

***

 

The raven crime lord stared at the passing city from the back seat of his car, Suoh drove him to the address he instructed without any question, it was obvious to the blond guard Asami was not in a good mood.

 

They arrived and as soon as the car stopped moving Asami entered the club with his trusted guard behind him. Both of them ignored the people dancing, the curious stares sent their way and the few invitations to join the party; Asami wasn’t a man who fell for that kind of entertainment in a low key place like that one, no, he wasn’t there for fun, he was man on a mission.

 

Soon enough both men arrived at the main office, Asami instructed Suoh to stay outside and the crime lord entered the room without even knocking. The man he was looking for smirked from the couch where he shared his cigarette with three barely dressed women who, after a silent command, exited the room and left the two men alone.

 

“Well, the great Asami Ryuichi on person. To what do I owe the honor of your uninvited presence?”

 

“Cut the nonsense, Sakazaki. I’m not here for fun.”

 

“Oh, you are here for business then. What do you need? I have some good slaves in the back if you are interested in expanding your empire.”

 

“I need nothing from your small rotting place. I came here for answers.”

 

Sakazaki arched an eyebrow as he took a long smoke from his cigarette. Asami searched on his suit pocket and fished his phone, the crime lord walked the few meters that separated him from the man on the couch and showed him the screen of the device.

 

The man opened his eyes wide in an expression Asami knew, it was not fear but surprise and some anger. That expression didn’t last long though, soon a deep laugher filled the room.

 

“Angry? You are clearly unable to control your own pet. Or maybe… jealous? He came to me willingly…”

 

Sakazaki stared at the gun aiming at his head, the raven man holding it was surrounded by an aura of rage and those golden eyes pierced through him like daggers.

 

“That’s a nice expression on you. But you should take it out on your pet, it was him who came here on his own. He wanted it, begged for it. I will give you credit though, you trained him well, his service was the best. I really enjoyed his mouth; I’m looking forward to try his ass.”

 

Asami saw red as a wicked gross smirk formed on the face on the man in front of him and before his brain could process what his body was doing the back of his gun impacted Sakazaki’s temple.

 

The hairy man fell to his side still on the couch, his cigarette fell to the floor where and angry crime lord stomped on it.  Asami’s bloods pumped in rage and with a swift movement his gun was back on its holster and his strong hands were around the beaten man’s neck, squeezing firmly but not with enough force to completely cut out the air.

 

“There is no way he would lower himself to satisfy a scumbag like you, what did you threat him with? Both of us know that is the only way you are able to get some action.”

 

Asami squeezed harder for a couple of seconds before releasing his hold and taking a couple of steps back, he watched as the Sakazaki coughed and tried to fill his lungs with so much needed oxygen.

 

The crime lord straightened his tie and his suit as he slowly walked to the exit.

 

“Stay away from him, if you ever even breathe near him I won’t be so kind anymore. The only reason I don’t kill you right now is because I have more important things to deal with than your disgusting corpse. He is mine, don’t ever forget that.”

 

Asami heard the man cough for a couple of seconds and opened the door to leave, the sound of fabric rustling indicated him Sakazaki was moving, he stopped on his tracks just a step before the hallway, he turned slightly his head and from the corner of his eyes Asami could see the still struggling-to-breathe Sakazaki again in a sitting position, one hand over his neck and the other bracing the armrest for support, his dark eyes filled with anger.

 

“How is Natsume-chan? Maybe you could send her next time instead of the fuckboy.”

 

Red clouded his mind again, he truly wanted to kill that man, but he knew he couldn’t spare resources in dealing with him at the time, but that man really deserved to suffer.

 

Again, his body moved before his brain could react. With a quick but smooth movement, his gun was back on his hand, he turned to face the man, a loud bang resonated in the room and Sakazaki screamed as his hand was pierced by a bullet.

 

Mildly satisfied by the pained cries, Asami turned again and left the building with Suoh behind him.

 

***

 

His office door opened abruptly, interrupting him from his thoughts and his whisky. A disheveled Sakazaki stormed in with furious expression, a purplish bruise around his neck and a bandaged hand.

 

“How dare you?!”

 

The man stared at the angry one in front of him with a mocking expression.

 

“I have no idea what you are talking about. Care to explain? Want some whisky?”

 

“You sent Asami that photo of me and his fuckboy, don’t play dumb, I know you did.”

 

The master smirked in response, so the plan was working just fine.

 

“You fucking piece of shit, after all I have done for you.”

 

“Ah, stop whining like a whore. It’s all part of the plan, we were in a tight situation and I needed a distraction, don’t take it personal. When we are done you can have your revenge with Asami all you want.”

 

“Try something like that again and I will end you, don’t forget the Minegishi-gumi responds to me, not you.”

 

Sakazaki glared a last time and left the office. The master took a deep breath and a large gulp of his whisky. A light knock on his door signaled his secretary was there.

 

“Sir, your orders?”

 

“Keep an eye on him, we don’t need another pawn acting stupid. If he tries to act out of the plan, kill him.”

 

“As you wish, Master.”

 

***

 

The safehouse was dark by the time he arrived; he entered and located the only source of light: the living room. With firm but smooth steps, Asami made his way towards the room and as soon as he entered was rewarded by the sight of Akihito engrossed in a laptop with Natsume reading a book beside him.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Asami-sama, Welcome back.”

 

“Oh! Asami! Welcome back! Just working, my boss sent me some photos to edit.”

 

The crime lord walked to him and stared at the screen of the laptop, the scene of a business man handling a white bag to another occupied the Photoshop space. Immediately he knew what was needed, the image was slightly blurred, for a crime lord it was obvious the white bag contained drug but for the normal eye it was just a white blob. It was obviously a photo not taken by Akihito.

 

“Where did you get your archives from?”

 

The photographer shrugged and kept working.

 

“The cloud. Don’t worry, glasses make sure the laptop is untraceable and my boss also took precautions, he knows I’m on hiding.”

 

“Asami-sama, may I have a word with you?”

 

The crime lord turned to face the young woman, her eyes reflected her internal turmoil. Asami nodded and soon enough both found themselves in the large studio. The raven man studied the woman before him, she looked nervous, something uncommon for her.

 

“Asami-sama, I’m worried about Akihito-san.”

 

“Hayashi-sensei reported he was in perfect health but she saw signs of mild anxiety, is there something more?”

 

“His body is fine, but… I mean… mentally. He is spacing out a lot, he cleaned the whole house four times just today and his expression is… worried, troubled. I managed to keep him busy in an attempt to keep him out of his head but I’m afraid it’s not enough.”

 

“Has he told you anything?”

 

“No… yes… well… He told me he was worried, scared of the situation, scared _they_ will find us again, scared you will get hurt… but… I don’t think that’s all. There is something else haunting him and he is dealing with it alone. I know how strong he is but he is equally stubborn and considering the circumstances…”

 

Asami pondered his options and stared at the eyes of the girl.

 

“What do you suggest?”

 

“Well… the lockdown is slowly killing him, he is not the kind of person to be locked inside for more than a couple of hours, so maybe… don’t know, allow him to move around some more, with security, obviously, but maybe take him to Sion? Let him take some photos? Let him help with something? He is suffocating here. But… more importantly, please talk to him, maybe he will open up to you on what’s troubling him, he needs to feel safe.”

 

The crime lord considered Natsume’s words, he needed to talk to Akihito but the talk he had in mind since the day before wasn’t exactly something that would help ease the photographer.

 

But he needed to know the truth.

 

He needed to know what and why it happened, if not, Asami himself would keep thinking about it, taking his focus away from the danger and that would put Akihito in even more danger.

 

No.

 

He needed to know the truth, he needed to confront Akihito and then focus completely in keeping him safe.

 

Yes.

 

Time to take the bull from its horns.

 

“Good. Thank you, Natsume. You are dismissed, have a god rest.”

 

The young woman bowed and left the room. The crime lord walked slowly back to the living room, back to the photographer. He needed to talk.

 

But…

 

What if he didn’t like the answer? What if Akihito actually went there willingly? What if Akihito wasn’t forced?

 

What if Akihito wasn’t his?

 

Asami stopped right before entering the living room, he could hear the sound of the keyboard and numerous clicks of Akihito working. He was about to turn around and leave when a scent stopped him.

 

Apple.

 

Sweet and delicate, yet manly. Soft but unmistakable and mixed with something that could only be described as Akihito.

 

His Akihito.

 

His brain took him to when they met, his hands caressing and memorizing every inch of that body in countless nights, then starving from its touch. His whole body exploding with electricity when he was back on his arms, when that sea of blue looked at him directly again, that scent flooding his bed, his house, his life.

 

Yes, he needed answers, and even if he didn’t like the truth he would keep protecting that apple scented brat one last time.

 

Asami entered the living room and sat next to the young man, Akihito felt the change in the atmosphere, closed his laptop and turned to look at intense golden eyes.

 

“Akihito, we need to talk.”

 

“O-ok, what is it?”

 

The crime lord fished his phone from his suit pocket and slided it over the take to the boy, Akihito took it and stared wide eyed at the screen. Asami could see the fear in those eyes, but also a storm of many other emotions washed over his face in a second.

 

Disgust.

 

Disappointment.

 

Regret.

 

He noticed the breathing of the boy became harsh and uneven and before he could say anything Akihito was up and running. The crime lord followed the footsteps to the bathroom where he could hear the sounds of Akihito leaving his stomach’s contents in the toilet.

 

Asami kneeled behind the small looking young man and rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him. Minutes later, Akihito sat back and leaned against Asami while the raven man passed him a wet cloth to clean his face.

 

They passed the next minutes in complete silence, Asami helped a pale and defeated Akihito to stand and waited until the young blond finished washing his teeth and splashed his face with cold water. Then he directed him to the main bedroom.

 

Both men sat on the edge of the bed, silently waiting for the other to speak.

 

“I take from your reaction it was not something you wanted.”

 

Asami saw the photographer become even smaller, Akihito stood up and left the room only to return seconds later with the laptop in his hands, he sat again next to Asami and started pressing keys until a file pooped up. The photographer placed the laptop over the bed, right between them.

 

“The cloud can be very useful.”

 

Then he pressed another key and his voice could be heard from the speakers of the laptop. Asami stayed there, listening to the recording without a word, he heard Akihito’s doubt, Sakazaki’s pride in his voice, his blood boiled when wet sounds accompanied with groans filled the room, he couldn’t help but smirk when that pig cried out in pain and told Akihito not to bite, then his heart broke when he heard Akihito throwing up in a bathroom just before the recording stopped.

 

Asami looked up from the screen to face the boy, Akihito had curled up in ball, his legs brought up to his chest and his face hidden between his knees.

 

“Why?”

 

“You needed the information and I… I just wanted to be useful… to you.”

 

The crime lord’s heart broke again at the sound of that voice, usually strong and full of passion but this time small and full of shame.

 

For the third time in the day, his body reacted before his brain could think about it. He pushed the laptop aside and pulled the trembling man against his chest; he held him tight and pressed a tender kiss to the apple scented blond hair.

 

“Promise me you will never use such methods again.”

 

He felt the smallest of nods against his chest, with his hand and great care the crime lord grabbed Akihito’s chin and tilted his head up to kiss those lips.

 

It started soft, without rush, but then it built up and full of hunger and lust, they lips parted one oxygen was necessary and he stared again into those blue eyes.

 

“Sorry, Asami.”

 

“I told you once that I will eliminate anyone who dares to touch you, Sakazaki will have his punishment for touching what’s not his.”

 

Another heated kiss took over their lips, hands caressed the other’s body lighting electricity all over their skin. Asami pulled back and admired the sight before him, skin flushed and eyes clouded with desire, his kitten stared back at him with trust and relief. He looked absolutely beautiful.

 

“Remember this, Akihito. You are MINE.”

 

Clothes became an obstacle and soon enough they reached the floor as the heat increased and the two bodies tried to melt into the other. Moans and groans filled the bedroom but neither of them wanted to stop, the fire between them was addictive.

 

Asami was relieved because the answer he got was a good one, Akihito was his.

 

Akihito was relieved because the weight that he had over his shoulders since that day had lifted and Asami still wanted him.

 

Akihito pressed himself even more against Asami’s body, he rounded his neck with his arms and kissed him fiercely.

 

“And you are mine too.”

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Take the bull from its horns” it’s a common expression we have in Mexico (In Spanish it is “Tomar al toro por los cuernos”), I have no idea if it is used in other countries but it basically means to face a problem directly.
> 
> Twitter: @Akambarhu


	32. Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything seems to work out nicely… until it doesn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> I’m back! Yay! And I’m promise I will not be away for long after this chapter, I actually behaved like an adult this time and wrote ahead some chapters, I don’t want to cut the reading flow in this part.
> 
> Are you ready? Tight up your seatbelts and keep hands, legs or any body parts secured at all times because we are getting started and it’s going to be a bumpy ride. 
> 
> Before we begin let me, once again, thank you for your continuous support, every single comment, kudos, thought, makes my day, thank you so much, you are amazing. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 32. RUN.**

He rolled over his back and stretched his body as the warmth of the morning light caressed his naked skin, he let out a content sigh as he felt the pleasant soreness all over his body. With laziness, Akihito opened his eyes and turned to face to the side in an attempt to find the man responsible for that sensation.

 

The bed was empty.

 

 A disappointed sigh left his throat. The boy rolled on his side, contemplating the empty half of the bed, he reached with one hand to the vacant space the raven man left and was surprised to find it warm. Asami hadn’t left a long ago.

 

A rustle grabbed his attention and turned his head towards the bathroom door; the photographer focused on the sound and realized it was Asami taking a shower. A confident smile made its way to his face as the boy jumped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.

 

Some shower fun sounded like the perfect way to start the morning.

 

***

 

Akihito leaded the way down stairs to have breakfast, a subtle blush still present on his cheeks. Behind him, Asami watched his boy bounce with energy, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

 

They entered the kitchen where they found Sayuri cooking breakfast, after the regular greetings and small talk the safehouse door opened and two more men joined the trio.

 

Soon enough Asami and Akihito, accompanied by Suoh, Kirishima and Sayuri sat at the table with a traditional Japanese breakfast before them.

 

“Akihito, Natsume, we will now inform you of the most recent events, it’s important you two know as much as possible. Kirishima.”

 

The secretary nodded and looked into the eyes of the photographer and the young woman.

 

“Yesterday we located the hat man and had an encounter with him. He is dead and has been identified as the leader of the Minegishi-gumi. The main threat has been neutralized but we are not sure everything is over, Inoue Tsugumi is still on the run and the rest of the Minegishi-gumi is nowhere to be found. Since the main threat is gone we believe is safe enough for Takaba-kun to return to his normal life but keeping all the security measures we can offer.”

 

“That means, Akihito, you can go back to work but with caution, no dangerous places, no dangerous stories and definitely no stake outs. Natsume will follow you every single moment to absolutely everywhere, if you are not with me you are with her; you can’t be alone until we neutralize all the threats. “

 

The blond nodded in agreement, the bright smile on his face showing his inner joy. He wasn’t happy for all the babysitting he would experience but at least he could go out and work.

 

“We will also be returning to the penthouse.”

 

His smile faltered, he hadn’t been in the penthouse since the sniper incident.

 

“The penthouse is secure, Takaba-kun. I supervised every single detail myself and I can guarantee you it’s now even safer than this safehouse.”

 

Akihito smiled at the secretary; he had no doubt Kirishima had taken all possible actions to ensure a situation like the sniper or the invasion didn’t happen again.

 

***

 

A couple of hours later found the photographer in the penthouse taking in the place with a smile on his face. Asami was back at Sion with Kirishima and Suoh, which left him home alone with Sayuri.

 

He contacted his boss and agreed to go back to work the next day, he called Kou and Takato to assure them he was fine and apologized for the sudden disappearance.

 

The young photographer melted into the couch as Sayuri entered the living room and handed him his laptop, both of them decided to keep searching anything to help Inoue.

 

Hours passed and both of them kept digging, Akihito was completely focused on his task until a new alert for an email popped in his screen.

 

Another photo of Asami in bed with someone else.

 

He felt his stomach turn and the continuous anxiety came back, whispering horrible things about himself and Asami. The young woman next to him noticed the sudden change in behavior and decided to ask about it.

 

“Akihito-san, what’s wrong? I thought the lock down had you anxious and I thought you would be fine once we were back here but now I think there is something else bothering you. Please, talk to me.”

 

“I’ve been receiving this emails…”

 

“Who sent them?”

 

“I don’t know, but…”

 

The photographer turned and stared into her eyes, the look in them told him there was no way out. Not that he had the energy to find one nor he wanted one, he knew that situation was draining him but also realized that after the talk he had with Asami about Sakazaki, he might not be facing the end, he might as well come forward and ask for an explanation instead of drowning on his own thoughts.

 

So he showed her.

 

Akihito turned his screen towards her and showed her the newly received photograph, along with the rest of the images he had received before and their respective messages. Sayuri stared at the screen with wide eyes and only turned to face the photographer when she had seen them all.

 

“I know for a fact that most of the photos where he is in public with other people are just business related, some are business partners, some are actual escorts to give a certain image. The… intimate ones… I can’t give you an answer, I don’t like to intrude in Asami-sama’s private life.”

 

Akihito nodded in silence, he lowered his head as a new wave of doubts clouded his mind, uncertainty evident on his eyes.

 

“But I do can tell you this, you are important to Asami-sama, I haven’t seen him so… happy in a long time and it’s been like that since he met you. I suggest you simply ask him about it.”

 

The blond man raised his head and gave her a small smile, a light blush tinted his cheeks. Soon they were replaced by a sad smile and a worried look in his eyes.

 

“He… he received a photo too. Of me. I… some time ago I wanted to help him with an issue and offered to find the source of some information, I tracked it down to Sakazaki and… well… he demanded his payment in a different way. It was only oral sex but I felt so dirty and ashamed after it that I made my best to forget about it. Asami received a photo of that time. He… asked me about it yesterday, I told him everything and he seemed to accept it and forgive me.  How could I question him for this? I can’t just doubt him after I revealed that stupid mistake, it’s not fair.”

 

“Sa-sakazaki?”

 

The photographer nodded and stared at her eyes again, but this time he saw worry and an emotion he could not place. She seemed smaller, vulnerable. The girl closed her eyes and shook rapidly her head, when she opened her eyes again the worry was gone and on its place he found a soft gaze full of warmth. 

 

“The same advice stands. Your actions don’t exclude nor excuse his. Just ask him, communicate to each other. You can’t just let it sit and eat you alive, it’s not healthy.”

 

“What if I don’t like the answer?”

 

“Then you decide your course of action. But at least you will be able to act based on truths, not assumptions. And it’s not certain that you will not like the answer, I’m inclined to believe you actually will. Trust him.”

 

Akihito lighted the room with a sincere bright smile, she was right, he needed to talk to Asami about it, he trusted him. Asami had trusted in him before and confronted Akihito about Sakazaki, the crime lord could have been uncertain about it just like Akihito was but he confronted him, even if there was a possibility he could not like the answer too.

 

Akihito also realized something else, he remembered his sleepless nights and anxiety driven days the last few weeks, he remembered the sole thing that plagued his thoughts and eased his mind.

 

Asami.

 

 He realized that, no matter the answer, he had already made his mind a long time ago.

 

_‘With you, to the end of the abyss.’_

 

Akihito agreed to find the right time and ask the crime lord directly, Sayuri hugged him in reassurance, a smile of her own in her face.

 

The need to find out the sender of the photographs, forgotten.

 

***

 

Normal life was a constant for the following days, Asami left to Sion, Akihito left to work and Sayuri followed him everywhere. His body was starving of adrenaline but he also was aware of the dangers he was facing. Stake out would have to wait for a little longer.

 

The photographer spent his days focusing on his work and his free time he helped search for Inoue.

 

But it was useless so far.

 

The girl was untraceable, even with the help of Shibata they were not able to find a single clue, not of her whereabouts, not of her actions. Nothing. She just vanished.

 

In the morning of the fourth day Akihito received a new assignment just before Asami left for the day.

 

“Don’t worry, it’s just a fashion photo shoot, I just hope it’s not with the spoiled model that made me miss the fireworks the last time, she is worse than Mitarai.”

 

The crime lord left after a quick kiss and the blond was left to prepare for the day. The young woman helped him gather his gear and together left the penthouse, each in their respective bike.

 

Half an hour later they were parking their bikes in the right building and riding the elevator to the right floor. His backpack over his shoulder and a small smile on his face.

 

“So… have you told him yet?”

 

“No, I haven’t found the right time yet. He comes home late and leaves early, he is tired, I don’t want to add to it.”

 

The woman hummed in agreement, she couldn’t pressure him but a part of her was screaming. She was not used to keep things from her boss but she had promised Akihito to stay quiet, and deep down she knew that was the right call. It was their problem to solve, their call to make.

 

“What will be my charade today?”

 

“My assistant, just do everything I say. You will help me with the lighting, and if the model turns out to be insufferable you will have the honor to kick her ass. ”

 

Sayuri nodded with a small chuckle as the elevator signaled they arrived at the second floor and doors opened, they exited the car and walked through to the signaled office, they knocked the door, a quiet _‘come in’_ indicated them to enter the room.

 

Time seemed to stop as the door opened and they took in the sight before them. An empty room except for a man sitting behind a large wooden desk, a man dressed fully on black, a mask over his face and a hat shading his features even more.

 

It was Hattie.

 

It took Sayuri less than a second to pull Akihito backwards as she smashed the door closed and both of them ran through the hallway.

 

“Take the stairs, we need to get the bikes to get out!”

 

Akihito did as he was told, with the fastest speed he could the photographer all but flew down the stairs until he reached the underground parking lot. He could hear various footsteps running behind him, and only a pair belonged to Sayuri, the rest were his pursuers.

 

They arrived at the parking lot and sprinted to their bikes, Akihito ran ahead as Sayuri materialized a gun from under her skirt and shot at the men exiting the staircase.

 

Their momentum was cut short as a black van closed the path before them. A group of men exited the van with guns in their hands and started to get closer.

 

Sayuri turned and shot at them as Akihito backed down, uncertain to where to run.

 

“Akihito-san!”

 

The young man turned just in time to catch something the guard threw at him, he took the object and felt its weight. Remembering the lessons she gave him not long ago, Akihito took the gun, loaded it and released the safety.

 

“We won’t get to the bikes, run to the exit. We will have to leave by foot.”

 

Akihito nodded and turned to the exit, his legs complained for the sudden effort but he didn’t care, he needed to get out, he needed to run.

 

The exit was not too far but a ramp slowed them down, behind him he could hear the footsteps following, bullets embedding to the walls and Sayuri answering the fire with shots of her own.

 

Finally the ramp was over, they only needed to make it through the last flat section and they would be out.

 

But their pursuers had another plan.

 

A new group of men appeared on the exit, ran towards them and in seconds Akihito was on the ground after being tackled down. His backpack lost somewhere and his gun flew out of his hand.

 

Rough hands grabbed him, he pushed them away but only got a punch to his face as response. Then his adrenaline kicked in. With a force he wasn’t aware of having, the photographer kicked the man above him square in the face, effectively knocking him out.

 

Akihito scrambled to his feet and spotted Sayuri fighting with three men that had her on the floor, her gun out of reach too; a hand grabbed him by his shirt and stopped him from helping the girl. The boy faced his new attacker, punches were exchanged but Akihito had the upper hand, his training with Sayuri showing its results.

 

The man fell to the ground just as a new approached him, Akihito balanced his weight and kicked him hard. With the corner of his eyes he saw Sayuri up again and actually beating the three men to a pulp, his heart calmed down a little, she was fine, she could manage them.

 

The two men attacking him were persistent, though, and came charging back as a new sound grabbed his attention.

 

Metal rattling.

 

Akihito turned to face the exit and his heart skipped a beat.

 

A metal curtain was slowly falling closing the exit. If they didn’t hurry they would end up trapped inside.

 

“Sayuri! We need to get out NOW!”

 

The photographer kept fighting until both men were out of combat, a quick glance to the exit showed him the curtain half down. He turned to Sayuri just in time to see her break the neck of the last man standing.

 

Wasting no time both sprinted the last meters of the path, the curtain keep going down, gun shots flew past him, some grazing his skin, others hitting the metal ahead.

 

_‘It’s almost closed; we are not going to make it!’_

 

Just as Akihito pondered his options of escape he felt a firm and strong push on his back which sent him flying the last meters at the same time a final gun shot pierced the air. The friction with the ground burned his skin as he rolled, the bright light of the sun hurting his eyes as he came to a stop.

 

He was out.

 

The young man turned to his side and saw the curtain slowly falling the last centimeters, and seeing through the small gap that was slowly reducing his heart came to a stop.

 

Sayuri laid in the ground, with blood pooling out of her right shoulder, pain written all over her features.

 

Still in the other side of the curtain. Just an arm’s length way.

 

The guard looked at him with urgent eyes filled with pain but also with determination, she reached with her good arm behind her and materialized another gun, she slided it towards Akihito. The words that came out of her throat left no place for doubts or complains, it was an order.

 

“RUN!”

 

And the gap closed. The curtain separated them and he was outside, alone.

 

The word became silent, the only sound he could hear was a ringing in his ears as he stood up and forced his legs to move as fast as they could, the girl’s last words echoing in his mind.

 

_‘Run. Run. Run. Run. Run.’_

And he ran.

 

As fast as he could. His legs burned, his lungs protested and his eyes watered but he kept pushing, he couldn’t stop, he needed to get help, he needed Asami.

 

A small weight on his back pocket grabbed his attention and snapped him back to reality, in his right hand he had a gun, he no longer had his backpack, but he still had his phone in his pocked.

 

Without slowing down, Akihito secured the gun in the waist of his pants, fished the phone out and pressed sped dial.

 

_“Kitten, what a nice…”_

“ASAMI!”

 

The boy interrupted him right away, this was urgent. Fortunately Asami noticed his frantic breath and the urgency of his near yell.

 

_“Akihito, what’s wrong?”_

“The job was false, it was a trap! Hattie! He was there and we tried to escape! I’m on the run, help, Asami!”

 

_“Where are you? Where is Natsume? I’m on my way.”_

Akihito could hear some background noises and hushed orders on the other side of the line, Asami was moving, he was going to get him.

 

“Sayuri was shot! She… she told me to run and… and… please hurry, they could kill her!”

 

_“Calm down Akihito, we are on our way, we located you with your phone GPS so don’t lose it or turn it off. Keep running. Is someone following you?”_

 

Akihito heard the rumble of an engine and knew Asami was already in a car, he focused on his surroundings. Where was he? Was someone following him? He realized he was running through alleys, he recognized them, they were far but he knew the route to Sion. Then he focused on his pursuers, he didn’t hear footsteps and there were no gun shots so he was safe for the time being.

 

“I don’t think so, maybe I… Aaahhh!”

 

He couldn’t finish the sentence; a man appeared from a corner and tackled him down, knocking the wind out of his chest. His phone flew from his hand and landed a couple of meters ahead.

 

With renovated strength Akihito fought fiercely, his attacker managed to connect a few punches but the blond man knocked him out with a well-placed kick. Another set of footsteps could be heard echoing through the alleys so Akihito wasted no time, he picked up his phone and ran again.

 

Fortunately the phone was fine and the faint sound of Asami’s voice indicated him the call was still going.

 

“Asami! Scratch that, they are following me! Don’t know how many they are.”

 

_“Keep running towards Sion, we are almost there.”_

 

“I’ll need my hands soon, I can hear them getting closer. I’ll put the phone in my pocket but will keep the call going.”

 

_“Ok, be careful, we are almost there. Just five minutes away.”_

 

Akihito put his phone back in his pocket careful to not end the call and kept running. He had no idea how much time he had run so far but his legs were burning like they were on fire. 

 

A crack next to him snapped him back to reality as he realized loud noises coming closer. They were shooting at him.

 

Akihito all but threw himself in the next corner to avoid the bullets, as he scrambled to his feet three men grabbed him and attempted to throw him to the ground.

 

Akihito was having none of it.

 

“Let go you fucking piece of shit!”

 

His voice roared, his fists connected against flesh and his legs pushed his opponents against the wall. He found his body moved with ease and speed, his brain didn’t have to think every single movement as his muscles remembered the actions and feelings, training was paying off greatly.

 

The photographer fought like a mad man, not willing to neither give up nor fall, Asami was close, he needed to hang in there for him.

 

Just a few more minutes.

 

But his attackers kept coming, he knocked out one and another one was ready to take his place. It was endless. He noticed they were no longer shooting at him, that was good but he still was in great trouble.

 

Akihito pushed the man holding him and resumed sprinting; he was so close to a main road, Asami had to come through there. The blond turned a corner and saw it; the busy street at the end of the alley was like a promise of freedom.

 

He raced towards it, forcing his legs to move again, he was so close. One step, then the other, then his face hit the ground. His attackers were over him again.

 

Frustration crawled over his body. He kicked, cursed and punched until there was no one above him, with the corner of his eye he saw the nearest man reach his gun and Akihito’s heart skipped a beat.

 

His luck was over, they were going to shoot again and being that close he had no chance.

 

He pushed himself backwards, away from the man holding the gun, Akihito still on the floor. A weird pressure in his lower back made him remember something important. He had a gun, Sayuri had given it to him. The man came to a stop in front of him and started raising his gun to aim at him.

 

He reached to his back and grabbed the gun, with quick and firm movements he loaded it, released the safety and aimed at the man.

 

Bang.

 

The pressure of the trigger was a foreign sensation but at the moment he couldn’t care less. The man dropped his gun and fell to the ground clutching his abdomen. Behind him, the rest of the men reached for their own guns.

 

“Akihito! Down!”

 

With the corner of his eye the photographer recognized the form of a car at the end of the alley and three figures were running his direction. He didn’t have to turn around properly and see them to know who they were; he could recognize that baritone voice anywhere.

 

Akihito did as he was told and pressed his body against the ground as hard as he could. A bullet rain passed above him, pained cries reached his ears and soon enough silence engulfed the air.

 

But he didn’t dare to move a muscle, he remained on the ground with his hands covering his head until a gentle hand shook his shoulder and rolled him over.

 

“Akihito! Were you shot?”

 

“A-Asami…”

 

The blond stared at the man kneeling before him and launched himself to his arms. Asami was there, he had made it, he was safe now. He focused on the heartbeat of the raven man against his ear and made an effort to control his frantic breathing.

 

“I’m fine, but we need to get to Sayuri! She is wounded!”

 

The crime lord helped the blond to his feet and guarded by Suoh and Kirishima they made their way back to the waiting car.

 

Akihito guided them back to the building, just as they arrived two more cars filled with Sion’s guards joined them. Kirishima, Suoh and Asami jumped out of the car, Akihito moved to do the same when a big hand pushed him back.

 

“Stay here, Akihito, I will leave four guards with you.”

 

“Like hell I will!”

 

Using the last bits of strength he could muster, Akihito pushed past Asami, exited the car and marched towards the building.

 

The crime lord cursed under his breath and followed his kitten; with the fire burning in those blue eyes it was obvious he wasn’t going to be able to stop him.

 

Asami’s men cleared the whole building as Akihito guided Asami, Kirishima and Suoh to where he saw Sayuri the last time. Fear got hold of his body as they got closer and closer to the metal curtain. What if she was badly injured? What if she was dead?

 

A man reported to Asami the building was completely empty as they came to a stop before the curtain. Fear transformed into panic as the photographer took in the scene before him.

 

There was no Sayuri, only a bright red puddle of blood in her place.

 

***

 

The place was humid and cold, her shoulders screamed in pain as she noticed her upright position. She was hanging from her wrists.

 

Sayuri made an effort to remember how she ended up there, everything was a blur. She remembered running, fighting, she pushed Akihito trough the gap of the curtain before it closed, seconds later her right shoulder exploded with pain, scared blue eyes looked at her, she passed a gun and then the light from outside could not be seen anymore, she rolled, she fought but she couldn’t stand and somewhere in the process her left shoulder popped loudly, a scream, pain, she couldn’t move her left arm anymore, more pain filled the side of her head, the world spun and then nothing.

 

Darkness.

 

Slowly the girl opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was chained to the ceiling, suspended from the floor for about half a meter. Her body ached everywhere, she was dizzy, her left side of her head dripped out blood as well as her right shoulder but the pain on her left shoulder was by far the worst, only comparable to the headache threatening to make her head explode.

 

The room was fully made of bare concrete, the walls looked wet and there were no windows. It was like some kind of basement.

 

A metal door creaked open in front of her and a man dressed in black entered the room.

 

Hattie.

 

He was not wearing his hat though, but the mask prevented his face to be seen. The man walked to her and stopped right in front of her, his eyes studying every inch of her body.

 

A gloved hand reached to her and stroked her cheek, then travelled down her neck, between her breasts all the way down to the hem of her skirt. The hand grabbed it and attempted to lift the skirt.

 

Ignoring the pain in her shoulders she raised her legs and kicked the hat man as hard as she could, the man stumbled backwards and rubbed his ribs; despite being wounded the girl still had strength.

 

“That was not a wise decision, looks like I’ll have to train you again, Sa-chan.”

 

Sayuri stared at him with wide eyes as her heart raced in her chest. The man straightened himself and reached for his mask, with slow but swift moments he took it off, revealing his face to the restrained young woman.

 

Her breath caught, her heart stopped completely and her brain froze as she recognized the man in front of her. Panic transformed into something else, her eyes burned with anger while her body trembled in rage.

 

“You!”

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert dramatical music here*
> 
> Twitter: @Akambarhu


	33. Operation Lost cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami and Akihito run against time to get Sayuri back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> I promised I wasn’t going to be gone for long and here I am!
> 
> Are you ready to discover what happens next? 
> 
> WARNING: Please mind the tags, graphic violence ahead as well as implied non-con. The latter is not explicit but it’s not pretty none the less so proceed with caution. 
> 
> Before we begin let me, once again, thank you for your continuous support, every single comment, kudos, thought, makes my day, thank you so much, you are amazing. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 33. OPERATION LOST CAT.**

The wind hissed and a loud crack echoed through the room as the whip connected against her back again. She could feel the blood dripping from her body and the pain was unbearable. Her shoulders threatened to explode, her head was spinning and her back was on fire.

 

The wind hissed again and she bit her already bleeding lip to muffle her voice. That pig wouldn’t have the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

 

Finally the man seemed to have enough and put down the whip, she bit again her lip as she felt his bare hand against the torn flesh of her back, the hand stayed in contact with her naked skin as the man walked around her and finally stopped in front of her, his hand traveled to her cheek, staining her face with her own blood.

 

“That tattoo was nice, but unfortunately it’s not the same anymore. I have to admit you have quite the spirit.”

 

His face was only centimeters away from hers; she could smell his breath and feel the tingle of it in her skin.

 

“But I know exactly how to break it.”

 

His hand leaved her cheek and traveled down her body, a disgusting feeling settled on her stomach as she felt him touch her, her shoulders burned more painful than ever but she ignored them in favor of moving her legs again and kick hard that pig in the face.

 

Chains rattled and her legs stayed on their place, now chained to the floor since the first kick she landed hours ago.

 

A cynical laugh reached her ears as the man grabbed Sayuri’s chin and forced her to look at his eyes.

 

“There is no use to resist; you already know how this works.”

 

***

 

Sion was in chaos, Asami coordinated everything as Kirishima and Suoh barked orders to their subordinates, Akihito watched everything from Asami’s office unable to grasp what anyone was doing. A gentle hand squeezed his shoulder and the photographer turned to find Hayashi sensei beside him.

 

Silently, the doctor checked his injuries, mostly bruises and applied a couple of butterfly bandages to his split cheekbone. She fished an ointment from her bag and applied to some friction burns in his arms, then bandaged them. Lastly she cleaned all the cuts and stitched the ones that needed it, most of them caused by bullets that grazed his skin, luckily there was no bad damage.

 

The doctor finished her ministrations and, just as silently as he came, she left after a new reassuring shoulder squeeze.

 

After a couple of hours, the storm finally managed to keep the pace on its own and the information started to flow steadily, every person under an incredible amount of pressure to find their lost member before it was too late.

 

“Asami…”

 

“We will find her Akihito, if they intended to kill her they would have done so in the spot, she is alive and we will find her.” 

 

The photographer nodded in agreement, he couldn’t believe they were in that situation, she was a professional, she was supposed to be just fine no matter what. Images of the puddle of blood and traces of the same red liquid that indicated someone had been dragged flashed before his eyes. Guilt crawled all over him, his mind racing with thoughts of worry and self-blame.

 

A big hand landed over his head and ruffled his hair, the blond looked up to stare at the raven man’s eyes. Strong, determined and fearless, yet warm. Just for him.

 

“She will be fine.”

 

The office door opened and a clearly frustrated and angry Kirishima entered the room with a tablet on his hand.

 

“Sir, CCTV was checked, all cameras inside the building were off but we found one pointing at the back from a nearby store and we found this.”

 

The secretary passed the tablet to Asami, Akihito stood next to him and focused his attention to the screen.  Kirishima touched the screen and a security camera video started.

 

The camera pointed to the back of the building where Akihito and Sayuri were ambushed, a black car stopped in front of the back door just as the hat man exited the building and jumped into the car, a couple of men followed him, one of them dragging an unconscious Sayuri behind, he opened the trunk of the car and threw the girl inside. Then they were gone, the car racing out of sight and several black vans following their lead.

 

“Sir, we followed the car via street cameras for a few blocks but we lost it, it turned to a blind spot and in the next camera it was gone. We searched for the footage of nearby cameras but since it’s a common model we found 14 more vehicles with the description but had different plates.”

 

The door opened again, a clearly angry Suoh entered and joined the three men.

 

“Asami-sama, the DNA test is back, the blood found near the exit and the trace that leaded to the back matched Natsume-kun. We retrieved several bodies in the building:  three in the stair case, four in the parking lot and seven more in the ramp.” 

 

The crime lord smile at the body count, those bastards got what they deserved for threatening his kitten.

 

“She fought fiercely.”

 

“Indeed, Sir. Also, we retrieved the bodies from the alley, eight in total. The ones that didn’t die from the shots committed suicide with cyanide pills. Takaba, the one you shot decided to bite a pill too.”

 

Akihito let that information sink in, since Hayashi-sensei had left his hands hadn’t stop trembling, the weight of the gun still a ghost in his hand, the feeling of the trigger still in his finger, the sight of the man crumbling to ground bleeding from his abdomen burnt forever in his memories.

 

The photographer released a sigh of relief with the information, he hadn’t killed him, the man decided to die on his own terms.

 

Akihito was not a murderer.

 

“All corpses hadn’t been identified yet but my guess is they were part of the Minegishi-gumi.”

 

Asami nodded and ordered to continue the search, Kirishima and Suoh answered with sharps ‘Yes, Sir’ and left the office to continue their mission, they still had a friend to find.

 

“I’ll help.”

 

The crime lord turned to face the photographer, Akihito stood firm, ready to work and find Sayuri.

 

“No, it’s too dangerous. You will stay here, we will find her.”

 

“Hell no! I’m not asking you for permission, I’m going to help even if you don’t like it. I am good in finding information, that’s what I do for a living. I can help. I WILL HELP.”

 

The raven man stared at the eyes of his partner; he expected to find guilt and sadness on his features but found determination and strength instead. A fire burning with such intensity that Asami knew he couldn’t stop him even if he locked him in a room.

 

A smirk formed in his face, the strength of Akihito filled him with pride and determination of his own. Asami fished a Dunhill from his pocket and lighted it, he took a long drag from the cigarette and released the smoke to the air.

 

“Let’s begin.”

 

***

 

She couldn’t feel her shoulders anymore, or her arms, she had been hanging from her wrists for such a long time that her upper limbs became numb. The good news were she no longer felt the excruciating pain, the bad news were she no longer had something to remove her attention form the warm sticky fluid dripping down her thighs.

 

Her head continued spinning, her consciousness slipping from her from time to time. A rustle behind her was the only warning she got before the man was in front of her, with his face centimeters away from hers.

 

“That was good, Sa-chan. I can’t get enough, I really missed you. You were my master piece.”

 

How much time had she passed in that room? She wasn’t sure, time seemed to elongate, then rush, and then disappear. Hours? Days? Weeks? She didn’t know, but was sure it wasn’t over yet.

 

But at least she had some piece of mind; he spent most of the time there with her. That could only mean one thing: she was alone.

_‘Akihito-san escaped. Akihito-san is safe.’_

 

The man stared at her unfocused eyes and the small smile that formed in her lips, he cursed below his breath, grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

 

She stared into his dark eyes blankly, he was too close, the heat of his body gave her goose bumps all over her naked body, his breath smelled like cheap cigarette and the fine layer of sweat in his forehead made him look even more disgusting.

 

“Seems like you need more training, you used to be more docile.”

 

And that wicked smile.

 

She couldn’t stand it, it was gross.

 

Her body reacted in the only way her brain could think of to express her feelings in that situation, she spat to his face.

 

His dark eyes widened in surprise as he took a couple of steps back. With his fore arm he cleaned his face while his body trembled with building anger. He looked back at her and saw her eyes again, still unfocused but still with that spark in them, small and fading, but still there.

 

Rage filled his mind, he advanced the couple of steps that separate him from the hanging girl and raised his fists with all the strength he could muster.

 

Over and over.

 

The sounds of flesh clashing with more flesh echoed through the room mixed with his labored breath, strained from all the effort and force he put on his punches. More sweat dripped from his forehead as more blood spattered the walls.

 

She felt every hit connecting to her already battered body, black spots darkened her vision but managed to remain conscious. Every hit sent an electric shock to her brain and fueled her body with the same emotion.

 

Over and over.

 

Finally, the man was done with his beating, he stepped back again and admired his handiwork, black and blue started to bloom all over her skin, red tainted the parts where her skin broke under the force of his fists.

 

Smiling, the man grabbed her chin again and forced her head up.

 

Ugh, that smile was there again. Gross and twisted.

 

Red landed on his face. His eyes widened again as red bright liquid spattered over his features and dripped down his neck. He used his hands to try and clean his face from the offending substance but only managed to smear the red color even more.

 

He looked up again to the girl who had just spat blood at him, his heart came to a stop at the sight. The young woman before him was hanging like a piece of meat, bloodied, covered in bruises, mutilated and half conscious; she was supposed to be crying and begging for her life, she was supposed to be dead inside.

 

Instead, a pair of brown/green eyes stared back at him. Filled with anger. Full of a promise of death if she ever laid her hands on him.

 

The spark in her eyes was gone, and on its place a fire burned with the intensity of a raging sun.

 

***

 

Two days.

 

The corpses retrieved were already identified and Suoh confirmed his suspicions, all of them were members of the Minegishi-gumi. Using favors and many resources they were able to find several safe houses linked to them. Teams were made, operations were coordinated and the houses were raided.

 

Two days had passed and Sayuri was still missing.

 

The Minegishi-gumi was debilitated as a result of several of their members finding death on the raids but they were not all, the group was one of the largest yakuza organizations, Asami and his men managed to exterminate just a fraction of them.

 

But the annihilation of the Minegishi-gumi was not the priority for the crime lord at the moment, he needed to find Natsume. Two days had already passed and every second that went by was narrowing their chances to find her alive.

 

Kirishima himself analyzed every secured safe house searching for any clue that could tell them where the young woman was but found none. Not a single clue.

 

Sion’s main circle began to feel frustrated and hope started to fade.

 

Except for Akihito, the photographer spent every second searching for his lost friend. When a path lead to a dead end he wasted no time and found another to explore. There was not time to doubt, no time to cry, no time to waste.

 

Asami released the smoke of what was his sixth Dunhill of the day as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was tired but to watch his partner fight his own tiredness and keep working impulsed him to do the same.

 

Even if his hope started to falter hours before.

 

Suoh was doing field work, leading several teams who were actively searching all over the city, Kirishima moved his net of intelligence finding connections and potential allies.

 

Asami, followed the money.

 

Transactions, properties, land, cars, buildings, everything that had at least a yen from the Minegishi-gumi’s money was put under investigation. He found some of the safe houses but since all came out with no clues everything started to seem useless.

 

The crime lord stared at his screen again; he was following the trace of a recent transaction but hadn’t found the purpose of it yet. The raven man looked up to the couch and watched the blond photographer engrossed with his laptop. It was almost midnight, both had made Asami’s office their home since the disappearance and none of them seemed to be willing to change that any time soon.

 

Akihito stared at his own laptop screen, scrutinizing every single detail he could find from the CCTV video. Again.

 

No matter what he did, he always came back to that video, something told him the key was there, he just needed to spot it.

 

The blond processed the video with one of his softwares to increase the quality of the image the bet he could, then repeated the video frame by frame, every pixel fell under his gaze at some point.

 

He gasped as he realized something new, he got closer to the screen, his nose almost touching it as he tried to confirm that what he saw was real. The boy came alive as he hit the keys and checked the rest of the videos, his eyes focusing in just one thing.

 

His heart skipped a beat.

 

“Asami!”

 

The crime lord looked up as he fished his phone from his pocket, about to make a call.

 

“Give me a minute, Akihito. I just found a new warehouse in Tokyo Bay and need to tell Suoh…”

 

“I found them!”

 

His phone almost slipped from his hands as Asami marched to Akihito, hope once again strong. The photographer turned the screen to him and showed him the videos.

 

“Here, look. When they throw her into the trunk some blood stains the rear end on the car.”

 

Certainly, the video showed a man picking up the unconscious girl and threw her with little care inside, one of her arms crashing against the rear end and leaving a dark prink on it. The crime lord hummed in response, not sure why that information was relevant.

 

“I followed the car up to the blind spot, then checked the other cameras. As Kirishima-san said, there were fourteen cars on the streets that matched that one but all of them had different plates from the ones of the car that took her. But one of those cars has a dark stain on its rear end.”

 

Asami’s eyes widened in surprise, the hat man had changed the plates of the car in the blind spot and disappeared in the sea of cars later, confident his car could camouflage in the city.

 

“I followed that car; they made it to Tokyo Bay. I have no images of exactly where, but she is there.”

 

The crime lord pressed some buttons of his phone and speed dialed his secretary, urgency evident on is voice.

 

“Kirishima, Akihito found them. Contact Suoh and come back immediately, we need to organize the operation.”

 

Akihito couldn’t help the smile on his face and the tears that rolled down his cheeks. He found her, she would finally come back.

 

***

 

Ten minutes later Asami’s office was filled with activity. Kirishima and Suoh arrived as fast as they could with Shibata right behind them.

 

“Akihito managed to follow the car to Tokyo Bay and I found a transaction to buy a warehouse there no long ago, we believe that is where they are keeping her. Kirishima, I want all the intell you can gather about that place. Suoh, form teams to cover and capture, I want some of those bastards alive. Send team Neko too. Shibata, support Kirishima in the control room.”

 

Kirishima and Suoh nodded, their respective missions clear. The crime lord turned to Shibata, the man bowed in a 90° angle as soon as their eyes met.

 

“Sir, I don’t pretend to contradict you but I would like to be part of the field work, my team will be there, Natsume-san and I have been training together for four years now and she is the leader of the team I’m part of. I can’t just sit around and wait for everyone else to rescue her. Please Sir, allow me to join my team and go find her.”

 

Asami stared at the man in front of him, he was still under investigation since his girlfriend was a traitor, but he was also a very capable man, trained by Suoh and had also proven his loyalty multiple times before. He could be very useful.

 

“Fine. Team Neko will be under your supervision. Kirishima, Suoh and I will do the extraction; Team Neko will clear the path for the extraction to happen safely. Go prepare you team.”

 

“Yes, Sir! Thank you Asami-sama.”

 

The guard left the office, a small relieved smile on his face. Asami kept giving orders to his secretary and chief of security as Akihito listened carefully, the plan had Asami, Kirishima and Suoh all over it but no Akihito. That wouldn’t do.

 

“Wait. And what is my job? Don’t forget I’m on this too.”

 

“You will stay here, Akihito. It will be extremely dangerous. Besides, you have done more than enough, you found her; now let us bring her back. And you haven’t sleep in two days.”

 

“Neither all of you! I’ll help.”

 

“No, you will stay here. That is not negotiable.”

 

The crime lord ignored the stare he received in response; he walked to his small server counter and poured himself a tumbler of whisky. After a couple of sips he served two more tumblers and passed them to Kirishima and Suoh. He handed Akihito a glass with soda.

 

Akihito took the drink in his hands without pulling his gaze from the crime lord. The raven man sighed as he took another sip from his drink.

 

“They could use it as an opportunity to get to you, in Sion you will be safe. You stay HERE.”

 

His tone left no space for arguments. Akihito lowered his gaze, he knew he couldn’t convince the man but maybe he could figure out a way to sneak out and help more actively. His brain raced with possibilities as he unconsciously drank the soda.

 

Asami recognized the look on his face immediately and stopped the photographer.

 

“Don’t even dare to think about escaping, stop your crazy plans and listen to me. You will stay here, is for your own safety.”

 

The photographer stared at him again, his intense gaze like daggers stabbing his very soul.

 

“I’m not going to just stay here and wait! Sayuri… Sayuri is in danger… and… and.. I… I can…”

His hand dropped the half empty glass as the photographer’s body went limp, with calculated movements Asami circled his arms around him, breaking his fall and pressed him against himself. The sedative had worked fast.

 

With ease and great care, the crime lord picked the knocked out blond and carried him out of his office and into his private rest room, placed him carefully on the bed, brushed some strands of hair away of his sleeping face and kissed him on the forehead. In the small living room attached he left a note on the coffee table and a key.

 

Asami exited his rest room and closed the door behind him, he took some minutes to assure the room was completely locked. No one could go in without the keys and Akihito was safe, sleeping peacefully inside for at least a couple of hours.

 

The crime lord turned to face his secretary and main guard. Both of them ready to start the plan.

 

“Let’s get ready, we leave in five minutes.”

 

***

 

The chill of the night welcomed the group of men as they arrived to their agreed locations, the warehouse was small, the job would be fast and easier than expected. Asami, Kirishima and Suoh waited in their car as the various teams reported through their ear pieces. The preparation was rushed but the operation needed to be perfect. Asami let out a sigh as he went through the plan again on his head, yes, the plan was rushed but well prepared none the less, each team knew their roll, each team was formed with professionals and men he could trust, each team was ready to act accordingly if something unexpected happened without compromising the mission.

 

_“Team Alpha, on position.”_

 

_“Team Bravo, on position.”_

_“Team Charlie, on position.”_

_“Team Neko, on position.”_

The crime lord took a deep breath, it was time to break the peace of the night and fight to get back the stray cat that had fought by his side for several years.

 

“Initiate.”

 

_“Team Alpha, advance.”_

 From his spot, Asami could distinguish the faint shadows moving through the night up to the warehouse, the hushed voices on his ear piece informed him of their advances and what they could see that might help the mission. The shadows broke formation and dispersed, each reaching their assigned spot around the warehouse.

 

_“Alpha 2, ready.”_

_“Alpha 3, ready.”_

_“Alpha 4, ready.”_

_“Alpha 5, ready.”_

_“Alpha 1, ready. Team Bravo,advance.”_

A new series of shadowy figures made their appearance, this time the group split in two, three men at the front entrance, three at the back.

 

_“Bravo 1, Bravo2 and Bravo 3, ready.”_

_“Bravo 4, Bravo 5 and Bravo 6, ready.”_

Suoh tapped his earpiece while his eyes took in the whole deployment. So far so good. The enemy seemed to be oblivious of their presence.

 

“Team Charlie, situation.”

 

_“Team Charlie on position and ready to fire. No movement inside the warehouse.”_

Suoh smiled at the thought of his snipers in the nearby rooftops watching everything, ready to fire at anyone who represented a threat, whoever was in the warehouse was in for a tough night.

 

“Team Neko, infiltrate.”

 

Another group of shadows moved through, they located a broken window on the second floor. Without making a sound the whole team moved until they found an emergency stair case, they climbed it located again the window, that was his way in. One by one the four men sneaked in, careful to no be seen nor heard.

 

Another round of hushed voiced sounded through the earpiece as the team inside the warehouse recognized the layout of the building and moved to their positions.

 

_“Team Neko, inside and ready. Building is full with wooden boxes, most likely guns and drugs. Five guards on the front, five on the back, at least twelve patrolling the halls between the cargo, six in the railing of the second floor. Twenty eight in total. No sign of the target.”_

 

Yes, that was the right one. Too many guards for a small warehouse. Kirishima and Suoh turned to look at their boss, their faces gave away they were thinking the same thing as him. She was there, somewhere. They just needed to find her. A silent agreement was made between the three men as the night enjoyed its last moments of peace.

 

“Initiate Operation Lost Cat.”

 

In seconds hell broke loose, a series of small flashes could be seen through the windows as the glasses shattered and the bullets flew. Orders were barked through their earpieces as each team played their part.

 

Team Bravo attacked each entrance, Team Alpha entered from different angles, Team Charlie covered from the skies and Team Neko attacked from the inside.

 

Minutes went by until a clear message could be heard apart from the sea of voices.

 

_“Tora here, more hostiles are coming from an underground level.”_

An underground level. That was the answer. Another flash glance was shared between the three men before they jumped out of the car, loaded their guns and marched towards the action.

 

Kirishima and Suoh flanked Asami, each with their trusty guns in hand, all dressed accordingly to the occasion: combat boots, military pants, bullet proof vest and bullet proof jacket.

 

_“Panther, Ookami and Lion on the move. Charlie 1, Charlie 2, cover.”_

 

As the three men entered the territory of the warehouse several men tried to attack them but none of them even managed to to get near, the trio didn’t even had to use their guns, bullets rained around them hitting every enemy, opening a path for them to enter the warehouse.

 

Once inside two members of Team Neko joined them, Tora in the front, Kuma in the back. The other two followed from between the small halls, taking out anyone who thought of stopping them.

 

They advanced slowly, their enemies proved to be fierce. Asami emptied one cartridge with a final shot in the head to a man on the second floor, with efficiency and fast movements took out a new cartridge and loaded his gun again.

 

Bang.

 

Bang.

 

Bang.

 

The noise was strident, glass shattered, wood chips flew everywhere as the boxes were hit, bodies hit the ground lifeless.

 

Tora guided them to one of the back corners, immediately their eyes stopped in an opened door in the ground where more men came out, the five men put them out of commission immediately and soon enough they were entering the underground level.

 

It was small, the hall only wide enough to walk two people side by side a little tight. Asami remembered the underground level were Midoriya Kyoko was found and the killed by the fake hat man.

 

The situation was almost the same one, his men fighting above, a small team with him searching for a missing woman. The hall even was similar, bare concrete with no way out other than the stairs they left behind. This hall however, unlike the other one, had only one door, right at the end of the hall.

 

Metal, big and heavy.

 

They quickly arranged their formation, Tora and Lion in the front, Panther in the middle, Ookami and Kuma in the back. They reached the door and after a quick deep breath Lion kicked it open.

 

A part of Asami expected to see the same scene as with Midoriya Kyoko but this time he was determined to kill the man before he could harm his hostage.

 

But he was wrong.

 

As soon as the door slammed open, Tora and Lion entered the room with their guns high and ready to shoot. They gave a quick glance to the person in the center of the room and made their best to focus on their task, they had to clear the room first, the sooner they got that done the sooner they would be able to continue.

 

Seconds later, Lion announced it was safe.

 

“Clear!”

 

Asami wasted no time to enter the room, his eyes hadn’t left the hanging body since the door opened. The crime lord approached the unconscious woman as fast as he could, Suoh was already beside her with his fingers against her neck.

 

“She has pulse, it's weak but it's there.”

 

Asami took in her appearance and his stomach sank. Every inch of her body was covered in different shades of black and blue, dried blood matted her hair while fresh blood coated her left side of her head and right shoulder.

 

The crime lord took another deep breath in an attempt to calm his wrath, that was not the time to let it loose. Suoh kneeled and began working to free her legs while Asami focused on her chained wrists, Kirishima helped him to hold the girl and ease some pressure from her arms and shoulders. He avoided to see her face, pale and still, almost lifeless.

 

“That motherfucker son of a bitch, I’ll torture him to hell.”

 

The crime lord’s attention turned momentarily to his chief of security, the anger in his voice was not something too common to hear, the raven looked down and caught his eyes, the rage was evident. The muscular blond turned his head down and continued with his task, then with a small and hesitant shake of the head he pointed towards the girls thighs.

 

Asami recognized the offending already dry white liquid immediately. Red clouded his vision as his blood pumped through his veins with such force that he could feel his heart ready to explode. Someone would suffer greatly and he would enjoy every single second of it.

 

“Her legs are free.”

 

Suoh stood again and walked behind her. His heart stopped at the sight. Finally her wrists were free and Kirishima helped Asami to lower the girl, the crime lord kneeled with the limp girl against his chest, he checked her head as Kirishima assessed the rest of her injuries. His mind started to wander into his memories, the scene to similar to the one years before.

 

The secretary gasped after the first glance to her back.

 

“What is it, Kirishima?”

 

The secretary stayed stunned, too filled with rage to respond. Suoh answered instead.

 

“Her back… is bad. She was whipped.”

 

“Let’s get her to the hospital fast.”

 

With great care Asami positioned the girl against his back, Suoh took off his jacket and wrapped Sayuri in it, to cover her body and also protect her. Asami stood slowly, carrying her on his back all the way back to the car.

 

The path was clear, the fight finally over with Sion’s men as the winners. The group left the underground level and rushed to the car and to the hospital.

 

The mission was complete and it was successful, but they still had a long way to go.

 

***

 

Consciousness came and went for a while, his mind fuzzy and refusing to cooperate. After several attempt Akihito finally was able to grasp reality.

 

He sat on the bed and studied his surroundings; he recognized the room as Asami’s private restroom. Why was he there? He tried to remember but his memories were elusive, he was searching Sayuri, he found her, the plan was made, Asami told him to stay and he refused, they argued, he… drank… a soda Asami gave him…

 

“That bastard! He drugged me!”

 

The photographer jumped out of bed, a wave of dizziness made him slow down but he shook it off and forced himself to continue. Akihito marched out of the room, crossed the small living room ignoring everything around him and went to the door only to find it locked.

 

“I’m going to kill that bastard!”

 

Akihito turned and sat on the couch, his brain racing again, he needed to find a way out. A piece of paper on the coffee table grabbed his attention.

 

It was a note and a key was next to it.

 

_‘Call me when you wake up. –Asami’_

The photographer fished his phone from his pocket and noticed the hour; he had slept for four hours. _‘They must have found her long ago.’_ Deciding it was best to call Asami first to learn about the situation he unblocked his phone and pressed speed dial.

 

“Akihito, are you still in Sion?”

 

“Yes, I’m here trapped in your room. Why the hell did you drugged me? You bastard. Tell me Sayuri is ok.”

 

There was silence in the other side of the line, that wasn’t a good sign. Worry started to crawl back all over him, all the bad possibilities danced across his thoughts.

 

“She is alive; we brought her to the hospital. The key on the coffee table opens the door, wait in the lobby. Kirishima will pick you up and bring you here.”

 

“Ok.”

 

 She was alive. Judging by Asami’s words and tone she was in bad shape but at least she was alive. The photographer picked the key and made his way to the lobby, a couple of guards saw him and nodded politely, he answered the same way but his mind was barely paying attention.

 

She was alive, but she was wounded.

 

His train of thought was interrupted by Kirishima, the secretary looked beyond tired and the seriousness of his expression told him the severity of the situation.

 

It was bad.

 

They drove in silence, neither of them sure of what to say to the other so they let the gentle rumble of the engine to fill the silence.

 

Fifteen minutes later he was walking through the halls of the hospital, following Kirishima to a private room. He knew which one was the right one immediately, Shibata, Suoh and Asami were outside speaking in hushed murmurs.

 

Akihito ignored their combat clothes and rushed to Asami’s side, worried sick about the girl on the other side of the door.

 

 “How is she? Can I see her?”

 

Shibata, Suoh and Kirishima excused themselves and left the crime lord and the photographer on their own.

 

“She is in bad shape but her life is not in danger anymore. The doctors will keep her in an induced coma for a couple of days to help her body recover more easily from the worst. I wouldn’t suggest you to see her, its… bad.”

 

“I want to see her.”

 

The crime lord nodded slightly and quietly opened the door. Akihito entered, located the bed and walked there. His body stopped midway.

 

Sayuri looked so small in the bed, tubes and cables covered her body, her head was wrapped in a bandage that covered almost half of her head, her left arm was on a sling, the visible side of her face was swollen and sported a massive black eye and a split cheekbone.

 

She looked awful.

 

And Akihito was aware that it was only the damage he could see, he was certain that, covered with the blankets, more damage coated her body. A warm hand squeezed his shoulder.

 

“Severe concussion, dislocated left arm, single gunshot to her right shoulder, lacerations all over her back and a set of bruises and cuts all over her body. Luckily none of her bones is broken, not even fissured, the gunshot just grazed her and despite the concussion there is no visible damage to the brain. The worst is her back but even that is not as bad as it could be, the muscle damage is minimum and non-permanent. She is expected to have a full recovery in a month or so.”

 

“They didn’t… didn’t…”

 

Akihito turned to Asami and stared into his eyes, unable to finish the sentence. But Asami understood his question and the struggle to complete it, Akihito himself had been victim of that crime in the past after all. With Fei Long in different occasions, then almost with Yuri. Then with Sakazaki.

 

“Yes, they did.”

 

His vision blurred as tears cascaded down his face, sobs escaped his throat. He walked the rest of the way to her side and sat in one of the two chairs beside the bed, slowly and with extreme care he took her hand in his and gently rubbed circles with his thumb, he tried to be as gentle as possible, he didn’t want to hurt her anymore.

 

Akihito broke; he cried his eyes out at the sight of his friend wounded and vulnerable. Because he put her there, she was wounded because of him. Because she protected him. It was his fault.

 

The blond cried until his eyes were dried and no more tears came out. Asami, who had been standing behind him, letting him figure out his emotions while quietly offering comfort, placed his warm hand over the mop of blond hair and ruffled it gently, then he occupied the chair beside him.

 

“She will be fine. She is strong and will be back sooner that you imagine. Don’t blame yourself, she will be mad at you for doing that.”

 

A comfortable silence fell between them, they didn’t need to say anything, they already knew what the other wanted to say. Their presence comforted each other. After several minutes, Akihito broke the silence, his voice only above a whisper.

 

“Asami, can I ask you something?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

The photographer took a deep breath and turned to face the crime lord, he looked  him directly in the eyes, like if he was looking for something there.

 

“Why does she work for you? How did it happen?”

 

Asami turned his gaze away from the photographer’s stare. That was a tough question but he would be lying if he said he didn’t expect it. Several minutes passed in silence again, Akihito patiently waited for Asami to gather his thoughts and answer.

 

“I don’t know the why and I already told you I can’t tell you about her past. That’s her call to make.”

 

Akihito pulled his gaze away and looked again at the hand he held in his. The warmth of it reminded him the warmth of its owner, a new set of tears formed in the corner of his eyes and threatened to fall. A deep baritone voice pulled him out of his thoughts again and snapped him back to reality.

 

 “But I guess I can tell you my side of the story.”

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can resume breathing now. 
> 
> Also, before I forget… the character injury tag does NOT apply for any of this events. ☆⌒(≧▽° )
> 
> Twitter: @Akambarhu


	34. Sayuri

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami is a young man working his way up in the underworld. A bad ally and a mysterious girl cross his way and change the course of his business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!!
> 
> This isn’t over yet! This chapter we learn Asami’s side of the story, almost the whole chapter is a flashback from Asami’s past.
> 
> I have tried to stay as close to cannon as I can and I’m aware that parts of Asami’s past had been revealed in “Finder no Souen” but unfortunately I haven’t been able to read it, can’t find it anywhere. The only thing I’ve read is the small interaction Asami-Akihito in the shrine but apart from that? Nothing, nada. Just mini summaries which only informed me of the presence of Kuroda early in Asami’s life but I have no idea what his role was.
> 
> So, since I have no idea of anything… here is what I imagined parts of his past like. But, if you have info of where I can read, buy, rent, or whatever “Finder no Souen” please let me know!
> 
> Also, before I forget. Two warnings for this one.  
> WARNING 1: Mentions of child abuse in multiple forms as well as graphic violence.  
> WARNING 2: It’s a ridiculously long chapter. A little over 12,700 words. I got a little too much carried away so grab a snack and get comfortable. 
> 
> That being said, enjoy your reading!
> 
> Before we begin let me, once again, thank you for your continuous support, every single comment, kudos, thought, makes my day, thank you so much, you are amazing. 
> 
> As always let me remind you English is not my first language so grammar and vocabulary crimes might be all over the place, please feel free to point them out and I will solve then immediately. 
> 
> Please enjoy and please comment, I love to read your thoughts. 
> 
> I don’t own the finder series. All rights belong to Ayano Yamane -sensei.

**CHAPTER 34. SAYURI.**

_The sun was high in the sky while he walked through the streets of Tokyo under the merciless sunrays. It was mid-July and the usual summer heat melted his skin but he had business to do, after several weeks of long distant conversations and plans, Asami Ryuichi was finally going to meet a promising man to ally with and grow his starting empire._

_He hadn’t been in the business long, and with his young age of 23 most groups underestimated his abilities. But he was growing, slowly but surely those around him started to notice his potential and used his services more often._

_Being a fixer wasn’t easy, especially when the ones who hired him had made stupid mistakes and then expected someone else to magically fix everything for them. But he had the contacts and a list of favors to collect. Being a fixer wasn’t his final goal either, it was just the means to reach a better spot later on, but to build his empire he needed resources and people._

_Yamamoto Satoshi was a man who seemed to have the necessary brains and connections of his own to become a powerful ally, maybe even a business partner._

_Asami arrived at the empty warehouse where he was to meet Yamamoto. The man was already there._

_Only a few months younger than Asami, the tall grey eyed man looked confident on his skin. He was famous for being a successful middle man in small trades and he was eager to be more. No more the middle man, but the main dish. But for that he needed more contacts and experience in bigger affairs._

_That was where Asami entered the equation. A fixer, yes, but even the large groups used his services recently and the man knew how to handle more complex and bigger situations than small trades._

_They greeted each other and discussed business right away, deciding to test the waters with a not so big job first and if they liked how it worked out they could start thinking about the possibility of a long term agreement._

_The job was fast but dangerous, both acting as middle men for two larger groups, an old yakuza family and a group under the protection of the Chinese triad._

_They mixed well, soon enough the deal was closed and they acted as intermediaries in the merchandise trade. Their cut for it was larger than expected._

_Yamamoto had only worked for half that amount before while Asami had had a sum closer to that one only once. At first Asami thought it was because of the groups involved but soon he learned it had less to do with the client and more to do with the merchandise._

_Guns and drugs left good money too, but the real profit came from something more… alive._

_Humans._

_The market for humans was bigger than he had ever imagined. Slaves, sex pets, organs, breeders. The demand for all kinds of things was endless._

_Both men had the desire to grow fast and strong, they worked well together but knew that for their plans to become reality they needed more._

_A pact was sealed between them with a tumbler of whisky and a silent agreement. They would work together to achieve their goals, and if the business of human traffic was the fastest way to make it happen, then they would accept the challenge._

_***_

_Two years passed with each working on their individual projects while on the side they worked together from time to time._

_Asami’s plan started to shape nicely, he had contacts in every level, his resources increased rapidly and his reputation was spotless. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of his partner. Yamamoto had almost the same amount and diversity of contacts but his bad choices with money left him with failed inversions and problems with various groups._

_Dunhill smoke filled his small office as he checked the last details of what would be the beginning of the final goal. Just minutes before he had ended a call that would change his game for the better, the deal was done and his long time project, club Sion, was finally on the table and inside the possibilities for reality._

_A knock in his door grabbed his attention and his longtime friend entered the room._

_“Ryuichi, Yamamoto is here.”_

_“Thank you Kei, let him in.”_

_Seconds later, Yamamoto sat in a chair before his desk, smoking a Dunhill of his own._

_“So, was your deal fine? I can’t tell with that stone face you have.”_

_Asami took in the appearance of the man before him, dressed in a suit, flashing his Rolex from time to time, a Dunhill between his lips._

_“Yes, it was fine.”_

_“Then let me be the first to say: congratulations. Finally Sion will be a reality.”_

_Asami limited himself to nod in response. Yamamoto changed topic and started to talk business, they agreed on the terms and dates and soon enough he was out of his office. The man hadn’t been gone for more than two minutes when the door opened again and Kirishima entered again._

_“Ryuichi, can I have a word with you?”_

_“Go ahead.”_

_The secretary sat on the vacant chair and stared into the eyes of his longtime friend and boss._

_“I don’t trust Yamamoto. His behavior has been… erratic recently. Even ignoring the fact that his business is not doing great, that man is a time bomb. Since the first time you worked together I noticed subtle changes in his demeanor and appearance but it became even more obvious the past months. The suits, the cars, the fake Rolex, he is like a very cheap version of you. My sources had also told me he brags about your partnership and claims that almost all of the deals he makes intend to benefit you. He is obsessed and when the delusion breaks he can drag you with him.”_

_“Yes, I noticed. He even began smoking Dunhills. And the rumors are getting worse. This job will be the last one with him. Have Kazumi make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near our security network. And I want everything you can gather of his deals.”_

_“Of course.”_

_Asami gave another drag to his cigarette and released the smoke slowly, enjoying the feeling of nicotine on his system. The secretary stood and made his way to leave the office._

_“Oh, and Kei? The deal went perfectly. Sion is now a reality. I look forward to continue working with you.”_

_“Those are great news and of course I will gladly stay under your orders. Congratulations, Asami-sama.”_

_Asami raised an eyebrow at the formality, he and his two closer and must trusted men were on first name basis since they first met years ago._

_“What’s with the sudden formality?”_

_“You are now a legitimate business owner. Get used to it, Asami-sama.”_

_Asami smiled as his secretary left the office._

_***_

_Contracts, phone calls, emails and a pile of paper work later, Asami finally initiated work at the new club Sion. It was small but his plans aimed high and the raven knew than with care and hard work, his inversion would locate him at the top in a decade or so. Maybe even sooner, if the right circumstances came his way._

_A knock to the door of his brand new office brought him back to the present, after a firm ‘Come in’ his secretary entered with a bunch of papers and documents on his hands._

_“What do you have, Kirishima.”_

_The secretary raised an eyebrow at the use of his last name, his boss sent him a self-satisfied smirk._

_“You are the main assistant of a legitimate business owner, get used to it. Now, what do you have, Kirishima?”_

_“I gathered everything I could find of Yamamoto’s deals for the past two years and what I found was… interesting. He was already known in certain circles of human trafficking, low and cheap ones from Osaka. His father was a famous trafficker but died almost 10 years ago in a territorial war. Yamamoto’s deals go back up to 7 years; apparently he started to stick his nose on those kinds of affairs since he was 18. His current deals involve him not as the middle man, but as the client buying and selling… merchandise. He is up to a sale tonight in Tokyo Bay.”_

_“Call Suoh, I want him here as soon as he can. This needs to be taken care of as soon as possible.”_

_Kirishima nodded and left the office to complete his task. Asami turned to his window and stared at the city below. He had been naïve. When he met Yamamoto two years before he had been careless, his inexperience in partnerships evident in his actions. He had only investigated Yamamoto for what he was known for, his past was something that hadn’t crossed his mind at all. That was the way he did business until a year ago._

_A pig came to him and offered an alliance for a small drug smuggling job. It back fired when Sakazaki made a “mistake” and threw him under the bus. If he had checked his background he would have known the pig was trying to pay a debt and had a long record of betrayal. With that information it was obvious the hairy man was trying to hand Asami’s head and business as compensation._

_Luckily, the situation despite turning ugly and almost fatal, everything turned out just fine in the end. He fixed Sakazaki’s “mistake”, got the job done and kept the whole earnings while Sakazaki kept his debt and gained a bullet hole in the arm._

_Since that dangerous adventure, Asami learned to dig everything about anyone new he made deals with. But since he had worked with Yamamoto and the man remained loyal, he pushed his background check to the corner._

_What a mistake._

_Fifteen minutes later, Suoh and Kirishima were back in Asami’s office and the trio discussed their plan of action to end their partnership with Yamamoto and be sure Sion would be completely unlinked to him._

_Around midnight, the trio left Sion and arrived at Tokyo Bay, located the warehouse were the deal was to be made and waited. Soon, two vans entered the warehouse, they waited until one of them left half an hour later and proceeded to enter the warehouse themselves._

_The sight that greeted them was one they were not expecting to see. Yamamoto pushed a small body into the van and when the man succeeded and took a couple of steps back to close the door Asami and his men saw the inside of the vehicle._

_Dog cages were piled up occupying the totality of the space inside the van; all the cages were empty, except for one. A small boy wept, dressed in rags and completely dirty._

_Yamamoto turned and saw the trio staring at him._

_“Asami! What a surprise. What can I do for you? I believe our job wasn’t up until two days from now.”_

_“You sell children now?”_

_“Well, yes. Since a while ago, actually. But why does it concern you? We agreed do have our own ‘projects’ separate.”_

_“It concerns me since you have been using MY name and MY association with you for this. You know my ‘projects’ don’t link with this.”_

_Yamamoto laughed, the sound rumbled on his chest as his laughter filled the warehouse. Suddenly, his grey eyes turned cold and with a maniac light on them._

_“You surely are too naïve. Don’t you see that I created you? If it weren’t for me you would still be doing senseless fixes for low life groups! If it weren’t for me, your business wouldn’t be as strong as it is!  I showed you the path to follow; I arranged that first job that dictated your next moves! But you refused to go deeper; you settled to be the middle man in these deals and ran away from the real stuff. Focusing on your inversions and gun deals. Even taking more jobs as a fixer again. YOU wouldn’t do what it takes to make it big so it was ME who did it for you. I worked my ass so when Sion finally became a thing it would be the perfect empire to run business.”_

_Asami’s heart raced when Yamamoto mentioned Sion, that was his project, HIS empire. Not Yamamoto’s, the man had no say in anything about the club. But apparently that was not what his crazy mind thought._

_“Sion is perfect, just think about it. Slaves at the service of everyone, to bring drinks, to please the customers, to entertain. And the dirty money will be cleaned there too. Auctions from time to time to allow customers to buy the slave they prefer after tasting it beforehand. We will train kids to become the perfect slaves and then sell them right there.”_

_His breath began to became heavy, rage filled his body the more the crazy man talked. With the corner of his eyes he could see his men were in the same position, Kirishima was so angry a vein could pop soon and Suoh looked like he wanted to murder the man right there._

_“SION WILL LEAD US TO THE TOP! SION WILL BE OUR MASTER PIECE!”_

_Flesh connected with flesh as Asami’s fists made Yamamoto’s teeth fly. The crime lord let loose his emotions with every punch. How dare that man try to steal his hard work and transform it into a medieval brothel? How dare that man even think he was responsible of Asami’s success? How dare that man say Sion was his?_

_Red coated his hands as he came to a stop, finally all his anger had calmed down and the man below him stared at him with wide unfocused eyes. Asami grabbed him by the collar and the tone of his voice was enough to scare the dead._

_“Don’t ever mention me or my business again. Since this very moment you are on your own. Come anywhere near me or Sion and a couple of lost teeth will be the least of your worries.”_

_The crime lord stood, straightened his suit and walked out of the warehouse with Kirishima and Suoh on tow, leaving a bloodied, confused and angry Yamamoto behind._

_***_

_The mid-day sun light burned his skin as he walked through the streets of Tokyo followed by his trusted bodyguard. Two months had passed since he cut ties with Yamamoto and Sion was doing great, his deals increased and he managed to initiate the next phase of the expansion of Sion._

_The road seemed clear and straight for him._

_Except for the small child that followed him around all day since the early morning. Everywhere he went that day, the same kid was nearby and he was getting bored of a child tailing him._

_He and Suoh turned a corner, entered and alley and waited. Soon enough the kid ran through in what seemed an attempt to find and catch up with them. Asami signaled Suoh to stay back and he stepped out of the shadows behind the kid, blocking the only way out._

_The child turned and froze, her face contorted in an expression of absolute fear, her little body trembled. Asami took in her appearance, the girl looked no older than 7, she was too thin and her worn out clothes were too big for her. But what grabbed his attention were her eyes._

_One brown and one green._

_Both soulless and cold, with no life in them. It was like the girl was dead inside._

_Before his brain could snap out of his trance the girl all but launched herself forward, squeezed her little body between the raven man and the wall and sprinted out the alley and into the busy streets of Tokyo._

_“Do you want me to chase her, Sir?”_

_“No, leave her. She must be a pickpocket and saw us as her targets. I guess she learned her lesson.”_

_The rest of the day passed with no more anomalies, the road clear and straight again._

_Until a couple of days later when the girl was back and more persistent than before. The crime lord took note of the series of bandages that now covered some parts of her exposed skin and the brand new black eye._

_The girl followed him all day, since he left his apartment building early in the morning until he returned home late at night. He entered his apartment and saw through the window to the street below, it didn’t took him long to locate the girl sitting between some bushes in the sidewalk._

_The next day he woke up early again, he needed to tend to some business first thing in the morning. He left his apartment and was surprised to see the girl in the exact same place he saw her the night before. She hadn’t move._

_He walked with Suoh behind him through the streets, never leaving the following girl out of his sight. She didn’t seem to notice he knew about her presence. He turned in a corner and saw an old candy store ahead._

_Memories of a small kid leaving him candies after he fell asleep in a shrine when he was still a student popped in his brain. That had been an interesting day. An idea formed in his mind as he approached the store, much to Suoh’s surprise._

_He finished his purchase and exited the store, turned to search for the girl but she was gone._

_“Sir?”_

_“The girl came back yesterday and stayed the whole night out of my building, she was right behind us just minutes ago and now she is gone. Tell me she didn’t pickpocket you.”_

_The guard tried his best to conceal his shocked expression as he searched through his pockets. Everything was there, not a single item was missing._

_“I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t notice her at all. But she didn’t take anything.”_

_“She is good. Quiet and discrete, like a cat. She is hard to spot until you are actively searching for her.”_

_Guessing the girl found a better target both men made their way to their morning appointment, Suoh trying too hard to find a small girl hidden somewhere, Asami with a bad feeling and a chocolate bar in the pocket._

_The day progressed uneventful, the crime lord sat at his office smoking a new cigarette before he had to head out to a new afternoon meeting._

_He couldn’t shake the bad feeling in his gut and his thoughts always came back to the same soulless eyes._

_Something was wrong._

_The girl had followed him around for a whole day and a half, that was too much effort for a simple pickpocket, also, the girl never took her eyes off him the whole time and waited outside buildings, that meant there was no chance for her to have something to eat, she even spent the night in a cold sidewalk._

_No, that was too much effort. She looked malnourished and greatly neglected. Someone was using her to keep an eye on him._

_Finally, his cigarette was completely gone and the time to leave for his next appointment arrived. Asami stretched his suit and called Suoh to go with him._

_They walked slowly, enjoying the warm light of the afternoon sun. Suoh had expressed concern for his safety and suggested using a car but Asami couldn’t shake the strange feeling. He needed to know. And walking to his destination was the only chance he had to spot the girl again._

_But she wasn’t anywhere._

_Defeated in his plan, the raven kept walking with his guard behind. The building he needed to go was near, just one more corner and a couple of blocks away._

_The duo reached the corner and just as Asami turned it, something crash against his legs, startling him and making him stumble._

_Immediately Suoh was by his side, ready to protect his boss from the threat that appeared out of nowhere. Both men looked down to the cause of their racing hearts but froze in their places, none of them sure of what to do._

_In the ground was the little girl, having fallen down after crashing against the man’s legs. She was rubbing her red nose with one hand as she tried to stand again at the same time._

_The girl looked up and froze. Her eyes filled with unshed tears but the crime lord didn’t miss the tear stains in her dirty cheeks. A look of absolute terror covered her face, a terror he knew he hadn’t caused._

_Plan forgotten, the crime lord fished something from his pocket and extended his hand towards the girl. She flinched and curled into herself, like expecting to be hit. Asami kept his position with his arm stretched towards her until the girl finally looked up again and stared at his hand._

_With trembling arms, the girl raised her hands and placed them below the crime lord’s. Asami placed the chocolate bar in the tiny hands. The child stared at the gift in confusion and before she could react, Asami had his hand over her head and ruffled the tangled hair._

_“Stop following me, kid.”_

_The young raven kept walking with a stone faced Suoh by his side, leaving the confused girl behind staring at him while he and his guard disappeared in the distance._

_***_

_The next day promised a new opportunity to create a new deal. His afternoon appointment of the day before had gone better than expected and a new cargo of guns was under his watch._

_The warehouse was full of wooden boxes, filled with what Asami assumed were the guns. But the middle man for the deal was not there yet. Asami, Kirishima and Suoh searched the whole space but found no one and the back door was blocked with more boxes._

_The strange feeling returned to his stomach._

_The three men walked back to the entrance, deciding something was off and it was better to pull it off. As soon as the entrance was on sight, they froze and unholstered their guns._

_Yamamoto was blocking the only way out._

_“What do you want, Yamamoto?”_

_“How rude, Asami. Not even a polite ‘hello’ for a friend?”_

_Asami stared at him with deadly eyes as his gun aimed directly at the man’s head. Yamamoto wasn’t to get out alive if he could help it. The venom in his voice showed his intentions._

_“What do you want?”_

_A wicked smile formed on the man’s face._

_“You already know what I want.”_

_Before any of the three trapped men could react, a small explosion forced their attention to the back of the warehouse._

_Fire._

_The wooden boxes spread the flames all over the place and in no time the heat surrounded them. Metal scattering snapped them back to action, they turned just in time to see the warehouse door shut close. Suoh ran up to the metal door and tried to open it to no avail._

_They were trapped._

_Asami wasted no time and with the help of his most trusted men they searched for an exit. The backdoor was completely engulfed in flames and all the windows were too high to reach._

_The heat became suffocating and the smoke began to fill their lungs, they used their handkerchiefs as mask in an attempt to buy more time and find an exit._

_But how? Where? If they could find a window that wasn’t above a sea of fire they could find a way to reach it and get out. But where?_

_A tug on his pants made him look down. Brown/green eyes stared at him with urgency while tiny hands pulled his clothes in a clear attempt to make him follow._

_In seconds, Kirishima and Suoh were by his side, guns aimed at the child._

_“Sir, she must have been used to set us up. She was part of the trap.”_

_Asami ignored his assistant words; he couldn’t make himself to avert his eyes from the girl’s. Just the day before those eyes were empty, fear and pain were present, but with no life or will to continue. The eyes he was staring at in that inferno were different. Still filled with pain and fear, but not dead anymore. It was small but it was there._

_A little spark._

_The crime lord felt the urgent pulls on his clothes become more desperate and the face of the girl showed frustration._

_Finally, the raven followed the direction of the pulls; he walked through hell with a small child as his guide._

_The girl stopped in the east side of the warehouse, almost all the way to the front, and signaled the window above them. It was broken. Just then did Asami notice the fresh bleeding cuts over the girl’s arms and legs._

_She had entered through there, ‘just like a cat’, and since the fire hadn’t reached that spot yet it meant they could get out through there as well._

_The men wasted no time to act. With only an exchange of stares the three men nodded and began piling anything they could find to help them reach the window._

_Boxes, racks, anything._

_Soon enough the pile was high enough and allowed them climb up and reach the window. Asami went first after the insistence of his friends and colleagues. The raven climbed the pile to the top, jumped and reached the edge of the window. Pieces of broken glass stabbed his bare hands but he ignored the pain, pulled himself up and passed his body through the window._

_On the outside of the wall, just below the window, rested an old rusty metal ladder. The crime lord placed one foot on it and felt it swagger. Then he placed the other one and heard it creak. Just as he thought he could make it, the ladder broke and he was left hanging from the edge of the window two stories above the ground._

_“Ryuichi! Are you ok?”_

_“Yes, just need to find a new way down.”_

_He turned his head to his sides ignoring the blood dripping on his arms. He needed a way down, a two story fall wasn’t a good idea. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as his heart raced on his chest._

_And there it was, a couple of meters away on his right. A drainage tube._

_The young crime lord swung his body, let go of the window edge and reached for the tube. Luckily he managed to reach it and climbed it down to the ground._

_As soon as his feet touched the ground he unholstered his gun again, ready to fire back if needed as his friends made their way out. His lungs screamed for clear air as he coughed but they were not out of danger yet._

_“I’m out, hurry! Use the tube on the right to get down!”_

_He kept his gun ready to fire as his eyes scanned every single corner of the space around him. The neighbor warehouse had normal height windows but seemed to be empty and no one was coming from the street._

_With the corner of his eye he saw Kirishima emerge from the window and jump to the tube, the secretary slided down with ease and joined him in his task to watch out for enemies. Seconds later, Suoh’s head peaked out of the window._

_“Kei, catch her!”_

_The secretary holstered his gun at light speed, just in time to catch the girl Suoh had just thrown out of the window. Kirishima put down the startled girl while Suoh climbed down and joined them._

_Finally out and safe from the flames and smoke, the three men took off their makeshift masks and coughed out the smoke of their lungs. Footsteps and yells snapped them back to reality as a group of armed men approached them from the street._

_Shots were exchanged but they were clearly outnumbered, three men and a skinny kid against what looked like a small battalion._

_They retreated while answering the shots, there was no way they could win against an ambush, they needed to leave. For some reason, their enemies stopped shooting at them; instead they approached and engaged in hand to hand combat._

_The young crime lord threw fists and kicks with all the force he could muster while at the same time they backed up in an attempt to reach a main road. He ignored the pain of the hits he took, he ignored the blood from his slip lip. They needed to get out._

_After what seemed like an eternity a gap opened and they started running to their escape route, his legs burned and his lungs complained again but Asami forced them to keep going._

_Until his face met the ground. A big man went through a window of the neighbor warehouse, managed to tackle Asami and tried to pin him to the ground but the crime lord had the adrenaline still pumping hard. Asami managed to shake him off of him and knocked him out with a single punch to the jaw._

_His victory didn’t last long, though. As soon as the goon hit the ground, a new one grabbed him from behind and applied a neck lock. With the corner of his eye he saw the man reaching for his gun._

_That was it, he was going to die then and there. Kei and Kazumi were fighting their own opponents and the panicked look on their faces indicated that they knew they wouldn’t be able to reach him on time. It was over. Asami Ryuichi was to die by the orders of a mad man._

_And then there it was again. Brown and green alive with a little fire._

_Suddenly the girl was there, determination written all over her features. The small kid jumped and opened her mouth. The goon dropped the gun as the girl bit his hand hard enough to draw blood._

_Asami swore he could see the little teeth sunk in the flesh of the man._

_The neck lock that was holding him loosened and he pushed his way to freedom, then knocked the man out with a kick. With the force of the movement the girl had fallen to the ground once the goon went down. She tried to stand but was stopped by a hand grabbing her by her hair._

_A new attacker pulled the girl and threw her backwards and out of the way a couple of meters, then charged against Asami. The raven kept fighting and once again won but when he turned to the girl his heart skipped a beat._

_A man kicked her straight in the head, hard. Her little body crumbled to ground, she was out cold._

_Men kept coming and Asami couldn’t keep up, Kei and Kazumi opened a new path for him but there was no way the three of them could return for the girl and make it out alive. He had to choose. It was the girl or them._

_He chose his friends._

_The three men ran as fast as their legs allowed, they shot back when shots where made towards them but the main road was close. They made it with a bunch of bruises, several cuts and a broken ego._

_But they were alive._

_***_

_“What is it with you, young men, that you feel the need to end your lives early?”_

_The old doctor grumbled amicably while bandaging up the trio of bruised men that arrived at his practice._

_“At this rate you will die before I do, and that would be a shame. If you die how would I be able to pay my granddaughter’s education?”_

_Asami chuckled at the doctor’s antics. Hayashi-sensei was a doctor recommended by Kuroda some years back, the old man never questioned Asami’s business nor he tried to find out the origin of his wounds. He just did his job and treated him like any other patient._

_“Both of us know you would manage just fine, sensei.”_

_The doctor wrapped up the last bandage and started cleaning up the mess as the trio dressed again._

_“I know that, but my fun would be taken away from me. You crazy youngsters are the only fun left for an old man like me. Now, all of you will be just fine, no concussions or important injures. Seriously, you need a doctor just to patch you up with Band-Aids?”_

_“Thank you, sensei. Your payment will arrive the usual way.”_

_“Good. Now go appreciate your lives a little bit more. Forget about my fun, if you die my granddaughter won’t have good patients when she graduates. Shoo.”_

_The old man paired his words with hand gestures and pushed them to leave his office. He still had clients waiting for his services._

_The trio arrived at Sion shortly after. Asami wasn’t happy with the events of the day. Yamamoto had clearly lost his mind, the man kept trying to steal what was not his and tried to eliminate Asami. Rage circulated all over his system, not only for the crazy man’s action but for his own mistakes._

_If he hadn’t been so naïve the situation would have been very different. If he had been more cautious he wouldn’t have to worry for his empire._

_But he was going to fix it. Since that moment Asami Ryuichi was to be as cold and ruthless as he could be. No one was going to push him around anymore._

_But first he needed to get rid of Yamamoto._

_The three men put hands on the job as soon as they arrived at the office. Calls were made, favors were collected, information was traded but at the end they got what they were looking for._

_Yamamoto’s whereabouts._

_As soon as they knew where to find him, Suoh organized the teams with the guards to attack while Kirishima and Asami mapped out the plan._

_Soon enough their first operation was ready and they left to take down the dangerous crazy man. Turned out he wasn’t that far away, the outskirts of Tokyo provided the necessary privacy and the properties had decent sizes so he would have no problem in fitting several guards inside._

_The drive to Yamamoto’s safehouse was fast and efficient, no traffic slowed them down and the drivers speed helped them arrive in half the regular time._

_The safehouse was an old traditional house, it looked abandoned from the outside but the lights coming from some rooms gave away the fact that there was someone inside._

_The teams reached their positions and the young crime lord gave the order._

_“Initiate.”_

_It was a war zone, several of his men lost their lives but so did the enemies. Asami, Kirishima and Suoh joined the battle and focused on finding Yamamoto. They swept the house and found nothing, just goons._

_Fifteen minutes later everything was over, all the enemies were dead and Asami’s men retreated to tend to the wounded and start the cleanup._

_Asami walked to the exit, his brain raced trying to find an answer, a clue that told them where Yamamoto was. A hand on his shoulder made him turn, Kirishima looked at him with a severe expression and signaled something next to the door._

_It was covered by a table and a carpet but the drag marks were visible. Suoh moved the furniture out of the way and once the small carpet was gone a metal door in the floor came to view._

_The bulky man opened it, gun in hand in case a treat was waiting for them below. They entered the underground level with great care to make no sound. The stairs were narrow and slippery but they managed to get to the bottom without problems._

_Their hearts stopped in their chests._

_The three men stared with wide eyes at the horrible sight before them. Two rows of small cells divided by a hall occupied the entirety of the space and inside each cell was a dirty and malnourished kid. The three of them advanced and counted 16 cells._

_At the end of the hall was a corner and the space continued, they advanced and once they turned said corner a rain of bullets greeted them._

_It was Yamamoto._

_Luckily he was alone but the man had proven to be problematic and that situation didn’t seem to be the exception._

_The man kept walking back while firing at them, Asami didn’t missed his blood stained hands. He had a bad hunch of whose blood was that._

_After what seemed like an eternity, Yamamoto was cornered at the end of the hall, trapped against a metal door. The crazy man shot one last time and disappeared behind the it._

_Asami, Kirishima and Suoh ran to the door, ignoring the new set of cells flanking the hall, and tried to open it to no avail. It was locked. But it was also the direction Yamamoto had taken so they needed to find a way to open it. After several minutes they succeeded. The door opened with a loud creak and a torture chamber came to view._

_Chains attached to the walls, whips, knifes, even wires and batteries completed the look. But there was no Yamamoto._

_The room was empty._

_Except for the bloody form in the corner._

_Asami rushed to the side of the form, he ignored the discarded whip beside them and focused his attention on the kid._

_It was the same girl that had followed him around days before and earlier that day had helped him escape a burning hell. But he didn’t recognize her because of her face, no, he did because of her clothes._

_The same too-big-for-her-body clothes, but completely destroyed. Stripes of fabric stick to different parts of her body using her own blood as glue. Her face was unrecognizable, painfully swollen and like the rest of her body, covered in a grotesque array of black and blue. Deep cuts oozed out blood all over her skin._

_With great care, the crime lord picked the girl up and, after confirming she still had a pulse, he wrapped her in his jacket._

_They rushed out of the house barking orders, Kirishima on the phone with Hayashi-sensei again, Suoh ordered the other guards to help with the rest of the kids, Asami with a half dead child in his arms._

_Hayashi-sensei was already waiting for them at the hospital, he rushed the girl inside without a question but the look on his face gave away his true emotions, he wanted to murder someone._

_The trio sat in the waiting room, none of them willing to leave the child on her own. They had some long hours ahead. But she deserved it. At some point Kirishima’s phone went off and a guard informed they found another trap door hidden in the torture chamber, it connected to a tunnel that ended up in another house two kilometers away._

_But they didn’t found the crazy man._

_Yamamoto was still a treat._

_Yamamoto was still out there._

_***_

_Asami stared out of the window of the private room in the hospital. The small child laid, still unconscious, in a bed that made her look even smaller. The crime lord had passed there a couple of hours every day the last five days._

_Malnourished, several broken bones, a severe concussion, lacerations all over her body, old scars and cigarette burns covered the entirety of her small back, black bruises, signs of strangulation, evidence of continuous sexual abuse, so skinny every bone of her body was visible, layers of dirt covered her skin, her hair so matted and tangled it needed to be cut._

_Those were some of the words that left Hayashi-sensei’s mouth when the girl was finally stabilized and in recovery. The old doctor couldn’t hide the horror on his face and the unspoken desire to torture the one responsible for the suffering of such a small child._

_The children saved from the cells in Yamamoto’s safehouse were under the government care, the newspapers spread the news with big headlines, all informing of the rescue of 21 children found in an abandoned house thanks to an anonymous call to the local authorities._

_A quick knock at the door alerted him of the arrival of his secretary, Kirishima entered with some documents on hand. He gave a quick glance to the girl and then handed the documents to his boss._

_“We finally identified her, Sir. Her name is Natsume Sayuri, her parents were Natsume Masaki and Kaori, both found dead in their home. The police reports said they died from a shot in the head and found evidence of struggle, in that same report their daughter was listed as missing. That was… six years ago.”_

_“That bastard had her prisoner for six years? He stole a 1 year old?”_

_“Actually, Sir, the report indicates she was 5 years old when she disappeared. She is now 11 and has no remaining family, no uncles or aunts and her only grandfather died a year ago from a heart attack.”_

_Asami couldn’t hide his surprise, he looked back at the girl, her tiny frame matched the one of a rather small 7 year old. ‘No, she is 11.’ He moved back his attention to the files on his hands, maybe she was not the girl, maybe they made a mistake. But all his doubts were dissipated when he reached a photograph of the family._

_Natsume Masaki smiled proudly with his green eyes behind a thick pair of glasses; beside him, his wife, Kaori, smiled at the camera while her long hair moved with the wind. And between them was a girl, her whole face shone with a big wide genuine smile while hugging a stuffed bunny in her arms._

_She looked so happy and full of life, completely different from the girl on the bed. But there was no mistake, it was her, those brown/green eyes were unmistakable. Not because of their unusual color, but because of the fire burning in them, he had seen that fire once, just as a small spark but he had no doubt._

_It was her._

_“Apparently that photo was taken the day of her fifth birthday, a week before the kidnapping. The bunny was her birthday present.”_

_The young crime lord took the photo from the file and kept it in his pocket. He returned the documents to Kirishima, a heavy feeling clearly visible in both men’s faces._

_“Inform Hayashi-sensei of her real age, he will need to figure out how to help her develop correctly.”_

_The secretary nodded and left the room. Asami turned again to the window, the road ahead no longer seemed clear and straight._

_***_

_It was at noon of the sixth day that Asami received a call from the old doctor. Kirishima and Suoh followed him and asked no questions when he left everything and announced he was going to the hospital._

_The girl had finally woken up._

_The trio arrived at the hospital in record time. They found Hayashi-sensei already waiting for them in the reception._

_“I know you want so see her but there are some things I have to discuss with you first. Follow me.”_

_Asami arched an eyebrow but followed the old man to his office._

_“Why can’t we see her now?”_

_“This is not your hospital, Asami-san, so you can’t do anything you please here. Now, about Natsume-chan. Her growth is stunned due to the abuse and malnourishment; she will need a complete nutrition plan along with regular general checkups to help her recover, that will take around a year or more, since she haven’t hit puberty she has greater chances to overcome this, however it is likely she will always be small for her age. Physically, she will have a full recovery from all her wounds in about 3 to 4 months. Psychologically… that will be a challenge.”_

_Hayashi-sensei took a deep breath, like preparing to drop something big, he stared directly into Asami’s eyes and continued._

_“The truth is, she woke up around 7am but she did so in a panic, we couldn’t get her to calm down and when she started to hurt herself we had to sedate her. She is awake again, still under a small dose of tranquilizers, but she is not reacting well to anyone of my staff. I can’t blame her, though, after the hell she went through. Also, she can’t speak. Like I informed you before, she had signs on her neck that indicated recent strangulation but her throat and vocal cords have no damage, her inability to verbally communicate is purely psychological.”_

_The old man guided the trio out of his office and into the private room all of them were now very familiar with. The doctor opened the door and entered the room followed by the three men._

_“Natsume-chan, you have some visitors.”_

_Three pairs of eyes fell to the bed, the girl was sitting in the bed with a panicked expression on her face, she held the blanket against her body like some kind of shield._

_As soon as her eyes fell on the young crime lord and his men her expression changed. It no longer held panic, it relaxed considerably and her eyes showed something that could only be described as relief._

_Slowly, the blanket slided down as she dropped it and let her injured arm rest as well as her hands._

_‘Several broken bones’, Asami remembered, to be exact 5 ribs, humerus and clavicle of the right arm and several fingers on both of her hands. Her broken arm was secured in a cast while her tiny hands were completely covered by bandages with several splints underneath._

_Asami walked to the bed and for the surprise of the doctor, the girl didn’t panic or tried to hide. She just stayed there, blankly staring at the man. The young crime lord raised his hand and the girl flinched, her whole body tensed and her eyes snapped closed like expecting to be hit._

_But the pain never came._

_Instead, a big warm hand rested over her head and carefully ruffled her hair. She opened her eyes and Asami could feel her body relax again._

_“Good to see you again, Neko-chan.”_

_Kirishima and Suoh slowly approached the bed too, to their surprise, the girl acknowledged them right away with a small nod._

_The three men knew they would have to take it easy on the girl, since the rest of the kids were under the care of the authorities; she was their only lead to Yamamoto. They needed to get her trust and they needed her to somehow tell them everything she knew about the crazy man._

_But she was a traumatized mute girl._

_They needed to help her recover first._

_***_

_It was a good starting point the fact that she already felt comfortable with them, for the following three months the girl slowly began to improve, she still closed up with everyone and flinched every time someone moved close to her too fast but her interactions became more frequent, and with Asami and his men she showed to be the most as ease, her wounds healed, the casts and splints were removed and she was cleared to go home._

_Except she had no home._

_So the crime lord made the only thing he could think of that would guarantee the kid to be under his watch until she fulfilled her purpose._

_He took her home with him._

_Well, more like he made Kirishima take her home with him._

_The girl stayed with the secretary while the three of them were in charge of different aspects of her needs. Kirishima made sure she was feed and well cared for, Suoh made sure she stayed active since she showed no interest in playing or doing anything a kid would do, and Asami made sure all her expenses were covered._

_But not everything was smooth and easy. Soon, the three men learned to be extremely cautious with very specific things. The first time Asami tried to smoke a Dunhill in her presence the girl was thrown into such a panic attack that Kirishima had to sedate her._

_They had to learn about all of her triggers and, unfortunately, experiencing them was the only way to figure out what was a trigger and what wasn’t._

_They went by their days with complete normality but with great attention to her reactions. If something started to bother her, the action or item was listed as ‘problematic’ and they eased her into realizing it was not that bad. If something, on the contrary, unleashed a flashback or ended up in a panic attack, the action or item was removed completely and categorized as ‘never-bring-it-close-again.’_

_Their days went by one by one, at first it was a challenge to get used to care for a child but as the time passed they fell into a routine. She spent a lot of time at Sion following around any of them and she had regular appointments with a psychologist and Hayashi-sensei._

_That was the time when Asami made the big decision of separating Sion from anything human traffic related. He cut ties with business partners, he turned down new jobs of that nature; he made sure that, even if Sion had been founded with human traffic related money, his empire would not benefit with it anymore._

_He knew it was risky, he knew a lot of people would be against him as he left their partnership, he knew that meant to slow down the growth of Sion. But he didn’t care._

_He would find a way to rise to the top using other methods._

_It was a sunny Friday afternoon when Kirishima searched for him in his office and informed of a brand new trigger, luckily, ‘toothpicks’ was only on the ‘problematic’ list and the girl just had a very ugly crying episode. But that was not what the secretary wanted to inform him, it was the girl’s actions after the ugly crying._

_She had willingly used a toothpick._

_Her hands trembled and she was clearly afraid of the small wooden object but she faced the fear and managed to overcome it._

_On her own._

_That was a first that signaled the start of a more speedy recovery._

_The young crime lord felt something on his chest that he couldn’t quite place, he looked for something on his desk and once he found it, Asami stood and made his way to Suoh’s office._

_The girl sat at the large couch quietly watching the blond guard working on his desk. Both placed their eyes on the young crime lord as he approached the girl and extended his hand towards her._

_She didn’t flinch. She extended her own hands below his and Asami placed in them the items he took from his desk before._

_A chocolate bar and the photo of the girl and her family._

_The girl looked at it, at first confused, then her eyes filled with tears. Asami saw in slow motion the slight tremble of her lips, the hesitation, and then he heard it. So quiet it was barely a whisper. Soft and gentle, like a breeze._

_“Thank you.”_

_Asami heard the surprised gasps Kirishima and Suoh produced. He was surprised too. The crime lord felt that strange sensation on his chest again and, for his own amusement, he realized it was pride._

_That was a first that signaled the start of more surprises to come._

_The young crime lord placed his hand over her head and ruffled her hair as silent tears fell over her cheeks._

_“It’s ok, Sayuri.”_

_Another first happened that day, the girl smiled._

_After that afternoon, the three men knew they couldn’t get rid of the girl, purpose fulfilled or not, at that moment they knew she was there to stay._

_They coordinated with Hayashi-sensei and put a plan in action that was for the long term. Kirishima became her legal guardian and made sure she reached the level of metal development a girl of her age should have. A couple of days after she first spoke they discovered she didn’t knew how to write or read so a private tutor was hired._

_Suoh became the enabler uncle who also began teaching her self-defense; the guard discovered soon enough that even though the girl knew nothing about technique and combat, she was fast and silent; somebody had trained her to sneak into places and not to be noticed easily._

_Asami made sure all her expenses were covered and all her needs were met. The girl wasn’t to lack anything. He also helped Kirishima with her education, sometimes even teaching her Kanjis himself._

_Their days changed completely, from all business and cold hearts to a recovering child calling them ‘Asami-san’, ‘Kei-san’ and ‘Kazumi-niichan’ while following them around all day. Each day the spark burnt with more intensity than the last one._

_Asami’s path was certainly not what he had intended in the beginning._

_***_

_Slowly but surely two years went by and the picture looked completely different. The girl, to the surprise of Hayashi-sensei, managed to recover and reached the physical development a 13 year old should have. Kirishima was more than pleased with the girl’s mental development too, she proved to have a very quick mind and her will to learn was absolutely gigantic. Every book he gave her, she finished it in a couple of days._

_Her presence in Sion was very common, if not training with ‘Kazu-nii’ she was discussing something with her Spartan teacher/guardian ‘Kei-san’. Triggers were still a problem but with the guidance of her psychologist and the support of her new family she improved to the point where only occasional nightmares and Dunhill smoke bothered her._

_Asami and his men, with the pass of time, learned more details of her life as a slave for Yamamoto but also never knew the whole truth. Her memory wasn’t very reliable; due to the trauma she had several blanks that only filled themselves from a nightmare or flashback._

_They had learned some useful things about the man, though. They knew his habits, his need to rise and his complete obsession with Asami. Sayuri gave them all the names and addresses she could remember but they never found him. The man was elusive._

_They also learned she was not the innocent child they thought; there was blood in her young hands… of a lot of people. She was trained to sneak and hide for a reason._

_To kill._

_The girl had confessed Yamamoto used her to follow his enemies and then sneak into their homes, offices, cars, whatever, and slip poison in their drinks, their food. Even sometimes she had to use a syringe filled with liquid death and injected it to the unaware victims and then ran away before they could catch her._

_At the tender age of 8 she collected her first victim. By the time Asami and his men rescued her, her count of dead bodies had risen to at least 30._

_She was a trained assassin._

_But at least they had her no their side. The only detail was that they never thought of using her abilities for their own benefit, it didn’t felt right._

_It was a cold winter afternoon when Asami made his way to his office after a deal that would ensure the next step for Sion and his empire. He entered his club alone while Kirishima parked the car and walked to the elevators only to find a pig waiting for him in the lobby. Sakazaki approached him with a twisted grin on his face._

_“Asami! One of your guards let me wait for you in the lobby; you surely took your time to come here. I have a business proposal for you.”_

_“Leave, Sakazaki. I want nothing to do with you or any business associated with your disgusting person.”_

_The crime lord kept walking but for his annoyance, Sakazaki followed him and entered the elevator with him._

_“Come on, Asami. Are you still angry about what happened some years ago? Leave the past behind! I’m talking big here.”_

_“What makes you think I will trust you again? Leave, don’t make me call a guard to throw you out.”_

_The hairy raven kept pushing the issue until Asami fished his phone from his pocket and instructed security to remove Sakazaki from the building as soon as the elevator’s doors opened. Asami tried his best to ignore him, the ride to his office suddenly felt eternal with that annoying man talking nonstop._

_Finally, the elevators door opened and Asami moved to leave the car. But instead of a waiting Suoh he saw Sayuri walking in the hall with a tray in her hands. It was obvious the girl was in the middle of bringing tea to Suoh._

_Time seemed to slow down, Asami saw in slow motion how the girl turned at the sound of the elevator and locked eyes with him, a smile formed on her face. But the smile didn’t last long, as soon as her eyes fell to the man following him her expression became one he hadn’t seen in a couple of months._

_Terror._

_Her body trembled, the tray in her hands fell to the ground as the girl dropped it and backed down against the wall._

_“Oh? I didn’t know you had a thing for this kind of stuff, Asami. But I have to admit you have good taste. So this is where you ended up, Sa-chan?”_

_The commotion at the hall attracted Suoh’s attention and seconds later he was out of his office, he took one glance at the situation and soon enough he grabbed Sakazaki by his collar and smashed him against the opposite wall. His face showed pure hatred, the crime lord turned to the girl again and realized what made his guard to react that way._

_Tears cascaded down the terrorized girl’s cheeks._

_“What did you did to her?”_

_The hairy man smiled wickedly, like mocking the guard for caring._

_“Only what her master paid me to.”_

_At that moment, the elevator opened again and Kirishima exited the car. He saw the situation and immediately made his way to the girl._

_“Suoh, throw him out. Inform the guards, if he gets close to Sion again, kill him.”_

_The guard didn’t need to be told twice. He turned the hairy man around and roughly pushed him back to the elevator. As the doors closed with both men inside the car, Asami turned his attention back to the girl and his secretary. The sight was heartbreaking._

_The girl had crumbled to the ground and curled herself in a tight ball, trembling uncontrollably. The secretary was by her side, trying to calm her down. His efforts were proven useless as the girl started to pull harshly her hair. Tears fell and her mouth opened in a silent scream._

_The secretary cursed under his breath, stood and ran to his office as Asami took his place beside the girl. Seconds later the secretary was back with a syringe in his hand. Both men worked as a team, Asami pulled the girl up and pressed her against his own body, as soon as she felt the needle in her skin the struggle began, the crime lord held her firmly so Kirishima could inject the sedative properly._

_The secretary was successful and removed the needle. The girl kept struggling but soon enough her sobs died down to a whimper, then to a low moan until finally she collapsed against Asami’s chest._

_Both men released a breath they didn’t know were holding. Kirishima took the girl in his arms and Asami leaded the way to his own office. As soon as they entered the room, the secretary placed her in the couch and materialized a blanket which he covered the girl with._

_A few minutes later, Suoh entered the office and after a quick glance to the sedated girl the three men started to discuss the plan for that nights deal. They couldn’t help her until she was awake so they might get some work done instead._

_A couple of hours went by and they were ready to leave. The sedative was still effective and they didn’t expected her to wake up for at least another hour so they had no other option than to left the sleeping girl right there, in Asami’s office._

_Asami grabbed a pen and piece of paper and wrote down a note for the girl in case she waked up before they retuned. He left the note in the coffee table along with a small gift for her. The three men exited the office, closed the door and left to finish their business as fast as possible._

_The deal was small and easy but would open the door for more in the future. His client with whom he had the meeting that morning had hired him for a new job as the middle man to sell a cargo of guns; they were to meet the middle man of the buyer to discuss the terms of the sell and the payment._

_They arrived at the cargo port and walked to the arranged meeting spot between the enormous shipping containers. Kakihara Kimihiro wasn’t there yet so Asami and his men decided to wait for a couple of minutes._

_Asami felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket but just as he moved his hand to take it the middle man arrived. The crime lord ignored the continuous vibration of his phone while he discussed the details with Kakihara, whoever was calling him was very insistent. Finally, after what seemed the fifth call, the vibration stopped._

_Kakihara was a sloppy dealer, his propositions made little sense and his body language reflected nervousness and at the same time eagerness. A baseball cap and a scarf covered his face but his grey eyes revealed his inner emotions perfectly._

_There was something familiar in those eyes but Asami couldn’t exactly pin point what._

_A familiar sound hissed through the wind, immediately he and his men unholstered their guns as a bullet grazed his cheek and embedded the container behind him._

_A sniper was shooting at them._

_Kirishima and Suoh aimed at the direction of the shooter while Asami pointed his gun at Kakihara, the grey eyed man pointing his own gun back at him._

_With slow movements the man took off his hat and the scarf to reveal his face. Yamamoto Satoshi smiled at Asami with a wicked expression; his eyes showed his twisted soul and contained anger directed at the crime lord over a crazy delusion._

_“I’m not giving up on my destiny.”_

_Bang._

_Smoke came out from Asami’s barrel as Yamamoto’s body hit the ground; the crazy man clutched his shoulder as bright red blood filtered between his fingers._

_Asami walked to him and aimed his gun right to his chest, golden eyes pierced through the crazy man’s soul as the crime lord glared at him with absolute rage and resolution. Yamamoto would not leave that place alive._

_“It’s not your destiny, it’s mine.”_

_Bang._

_Asami couldn’t help the satisfaction he felt at the sight of Yamamoto’s eyes closing and the growth of a puddle of red below his inert body. Blood pooled out of the bullet hole in his chest._

_Finally the nuisance was gone._

_The crime lord turned to his men, Kirishima and Suoh kept themselves in an angle appropriate to cover their boss’s body while they kept searching for the sniper at the same time. Asami joined them in the search but the shooter was nowhere to be seen and also wasn’t shooting at them again._

_That first shot was the only one they got._

_A strange noise caught their attention, several containers back they heard something that could not be anything else than a struggle. They followed the noise. Each step the took the noise was louder, moments later they were able to hear the voice of a man cursing. They were close, just one more turn._

_“Damn brat!”_

_Bang._

_The sound of a shot made them stop in their tracks only to resume running half a second later. They turned the last corner and the sight froze their blood._

_A man completely dressed in black combat gear stood with a gun in his hand. And in the ground above a growing puddle of blood was the thirteen year old girl that was supposed to be knocked out in Asami’s office._

_Immediately, Asami aimed at the man and before he even noticed them the man was dead in the ground with a black hole in his head._

_The three men rushed to the girl’s side, she was barely conscious. Suoh kneeled beside her and rolled her on her back, then he began applying pressure to the wound in her chest while urging her to stay awake. Kirishima was already on the phone barking at Hayashi-sensei to be ready in the hospital._

_Just as Suoh started to move to carry her in his arms the girl opened her eyes and smiled weakly at them._

_“It’s… ok… I… shouldn’t be… alive… to begin with…”_

_The three men watched in silent horror as her smile disappeared and her eyes closed, her body going completely limp in Suoh’s arms._

_The drive to the hospital was silent and fast, Suoh drove like a mad man but none of them could care less about the dozens of traffic laws they certainly had broken in that ride. The old doctor was already waiting for them when they arrived at the hospital and in a matter of seconds the girl was rushed into surgery._

_Hours passed by and the three men stayed in complete silence in a private room waiting for the doctor and the girl. Her last words echoing through their minds over and over._

_‘I shouldn’t be alive to begin with.’_

_Finally, after a long 8 hours, Hayashi-sensei entered the room with several doctors and nurses wheeling an unconscious Sayuri on a stretcher. The team moved her to the bed and left the three men alone with the old doctor._

_“The bullet missed her heart by millimeters. Less than a centimeter in the wrong direction and the story would be completely different. Unfortunately, her lung wasn’t that lucky, the bullet perforated it. The surgery was tricky, she lost a lot of blood and flat lined once but we managed to bring her back. Even though the severity of her injury the prognostic is good for her recovery, that pneumothorax should be healed in six to eight weeks with the proper therapy and I don’t expect her to have any permanent issues. She is still under the anesthetic but should wake up in a couple of hours.”_

_Asami thanked the doctor; the old man nodded in understanding and left the room. The three men released a breath they didn’t notice they were holding and melted into their seats. They still had a couple of long hours ahead._

_Almost reaching the two hours mark a soft groan caught their attention. Asami stood from his seat and walked to her side as brown/green eyes blinked open. Her eyes stared at the ceiling as her face expressed her confusion._

_“Why?”_

_“That’s what I want to know. Why did you put yourself in danger?”_

_Sayuri turned her head towards the crime lord; her lifeless eyes made his heart skip a beat._

_“My life is not worth much, yours is much more important.”_

_Asami didn’t have to look at them to know Kirishima and Suoh had a sad expression on their faces, he also shared the oppression in his chest threatening to crush his heart._

_Her body had healed but her spirit was just as fragile as when they first met her._

_“If you don’t have a purpose, then let mine be yours too. If you don’t want your life, then give it to me. Work hard and help me build my empire. Follow me.”_

_***_

_As soon as the girl left the hospital and was cleared by the doctor she started to train with Suoh while Kirishima ensured she had education of the highest level._

_Three years later Asami assigned her first surveillance mission._

_Two years after that, in her eighteen birthday, the crime lord spoke to her in his office surrounded by Kirishima and Suoh._

_“Sayuri, you have proven yourself to be capable of doing anything you want, you have a whole life ahead. I give you a choice to make today. You can leave and live your life as you please, we will continue to support you in any way we can. Or you can stay and be an official part of Sion, but have in mind there will be no turning back if you chose so._

_The young woman didn’t hesitate. She stared right into his eyes with determination and no trace of doubt in her soul._

_“If you let me, I would be honored to stay by your side.”_

_A chuckle left the crime lord’s throat as he admired the raging fire in those brown/green eyes._

_“Very well. Follow me then, Natsume.”_

_***_

The warmth of the early sun woke him up. Akihito stretched his body and stood from that uncomfortable chair that had become his second home for the last three days.

 

No matter what Asami told him of how much Kirishima instructed him to go home, the photographer refused to leave the woman’s side. Three days had gone by and she remained asleep, Hayashi-sensei had told him she was no longer under a medical coma and she would wake up on her own but that depended on her. Sayuri would wake up when her body decided so.

 

A quick knock at the door signaled him the arrival of breakfast. Suoh entered the room and handed the photographer a bag with food while his eyes didn’t left the young woman’s still form.

 

Akihito couldn’t imagine his pain, after what Asami had told him he understood the link between them and how much Sayuri meant for the three of them. Even Kirishima had showed some emotions. She was not just a college, she was not just a friend, she was family.

 

The guard exited the room and left him with his breakfast. He ate with a heavy heart and the food was tasteless with his mind lost in his memories.

 

The way her brows furrowed when she was engrossed in a book, the clumsiness she acquired when she grew nervous or self-conscious, and the sweet shyness that went away when she was determined to help someone out.

 

A small groan snapped him back to reality, the photographer forgot his food and jumped to Sayuri’s side. Confused brown/green eyes blinked open and after some moments they searched the room only to land in the photographer’s face.

 

A weak smile formed in her lips as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.

 

“Akihito-san! I’m so glad you are ok!”

 

Akihito felt his heart resume beating with the sound of her voice. It was strained and weak, almost a whisper but he could recognize it anywhere. Soft and gentle. Like a breeze.

 

“Idiot! Worry about yourself first!”

 

 The blond felt his own tears fall down his cheeks as a wide smile appeared on his face.   She was alive, she was awake and speaking. She was going to be fine.

 

As he brushed his tears away he saw the woman trying to sit only to fall back to the mattress with a small cry of pain. Akihito pushed her back as she made another attempt. Then he pressed a button on the side of the bed until the mattress was reclined and Sayuri was in a half sitting position. A new set of tears cascaded down his face and he brushed them away.

 

“You are such an idiot! Why are you so careless! You pushed me out and got seriously injured covering me, then you disappear for TWO days and reappear full of wounds and all blue and… and… I thought I had lost you!”

 

Akihito stopped his attempts to get rid of his tears; he let them flow freely as sobs wrecked his body.

 

“I’m sorry, Akihito-san.”

 

“Don’t you dare do something like that again or I will kill you myself!”

 

The young woman nodded as fat tears cascaded down her face. Both sobbed and held each other’s hands for some minutes until Akihito realized he had to tell someone she was awake.

 

The photographer cleaned his tear stained face with the sleeve of his jacket and left the room. He saw Suoh talking with a nurse at the end of the hall, the guard noticed him right away.

 

“Suoh-san! She is awake!”

 

The blond guard froze in his place, his eyes widened in surprise. A couple of heartbeats later, Suoh fished his phone and after a quick ‘ _Kei, she is up’_ he all but ran to the room.  As soon as his eyes landed on the girl his expression relaxed and his face showed absolute relief.

 

Akihito stayed by the door as Suoh approached the girl and stroke her head with great care and clear brotherly love.

 

“I’m sorry, Kazu-nii.”

 

“It’s ok, kid. You and I know this is part of the job.”

 

The door opened abruptly and a clearly worked up Kirishima entered the room followed by Asami. The secretary marched towards the girl and glared at her.

 

“You reckless kid! Why are you always causing some kind of trouble? You have no idea how worried everyone was! Don’t you have any regard for other’s feelings? I thought my heart was going to stop in my chest!”

 

Akihito couldn’t help the small laugh that left his throat; Kirishima was just like a mother hen. A small smile formed on Sayuri’s lips as the usually stoic secretary kept scolding her.

 

“I’m sorry, Kei-san.”

 

“There is no need to apologize, you accomplished your mission. You kept Akihito safe. Good job, Sayuri.”

 

Sayuri turned to the owner of that baritone voice as a new set of tears flowed free. Her eyes shone with relief and happiness.

 

“Thank you, Asami-san.”

 

Asami gave a small nod as a knock at the door announced the arrival of another woman. Hayashi-sensei entered the room and wasted no time to check up the young woman. He informed her of all her injures as she went along. Her bruises were checked, her bandages were re-dressed and soon enough the doctor was done.

 

“Everything is in order; recovery time will go as planned with the proper care so take it easy and rest. I don’t care this is your hospital, Asami-san, I want all of you to let her rest.”

 

The doctor left the room after a couple of thanks. Once the door was closed, the crime lord turned to face Akihito and spoke firmly, his tone leaving no space to argue.

 

“You will go back to the penthouse now, Akihito. You too need a good rest after being three days straight here.”

 

“No! I will stay and keep an eye on her.”

 

A small laugh broke the glare contest between the two men, Akihito turned to the source of the sound with a small smile on his lips.

 

“Last time I checked it’s me who is supposed to keep an eye on you, Akihito-san. Although I appreciate the feeling you should go and have a good sleep, you look like a zombie.”

 

That decided it. Akihito grumbled below his breath but reluctantly accepted to leave. He said his good byes to the young woman and made his way to the door. He noticed a series of exchanges behind him and then a series of footsteps following him.

 

Asami, Kirishima and Suoh were leaving too.

 

As his hand reached the doorknob a voice made him stop on his tracks and turn around.

 

“Wait! Asami-sama!” 

The other three men stopped too and faced the girl. Her eyes burned as conviction and strength sparkled in her gaze.

 

“I know who Hattie is.”

 

TBC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make your bets.
> 
> Also, I am aware there are a lot of holes in Asami’s side of the story; those will be filled when we get to Sayuri’s side.
> 
> Twitter: @Akambarhu


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